Persona Story of Originality in a way
by AmbieBambie85
Summary: Yeah...I don't have a very creative title. Anyways, this takes place after Persona 3 & 4 and is ALMOST completely original. The characters' names are of my own creation, but I borrow Personas. SIMILARITIES WILL BE PRESENT!
1. Prologue

**Ambie's Note: **Hey there, this is my first story that I've posted, so sorry for any errors. Um...this is a Persona FanFic, but it's pretty much all original, except I SORTA 'borrowed' a few personalities. I also used a few familiar Personas for the characters to have, here's the list just so ya know: Seth, Succubus, Triglav, Hariti, Shiisa, and Yamata-no-Orochi. The other two are of my own creation and they're Ikami and Venus. I'd say this story is more like P4, characters and plot...and you'll notice some stuff that seems familiar.

**Disclaimer: **The Persona Series does not, in any way, belong to me; I just like their ideas and character design which inspired me to write this!

***

**Prologue: **

Misaki Tsubaku sat on her queen-sized bed in silence and shock; she couldn't believe—or accept—what she had just been told by the Police of Hichuri City. Instead of saying her feelings out loud she looked at her white carpet in sadness as tears silently fell from her blue eyes.

"I—I don't believe you…I—I can't believe you I just…" She trailed off and shook her head, "I don't want to hear you…but please explain the situation to me again…"

The hazel-eyed policeman looked at Misaki sadly, "Your mother—Yoshie Tsubaku—was found dead, hanging from a large tree downtown…the cause of death is unknown and unexplainable." He said sadly, just doing his job.

At those words Misaki cried more, but it was still in silence, "Why…what reason could anybody have for…for killing my mom I—"

"We don't know if it was murder or self-induced," The policeman said sadly, "deaths like this aren't something the police see often, so we don't know how to explain it…"

Misaki stilled stared at the ground, she didn't know if she had enough strength to look up the officer, but she still spoke. "So am I going to have to move in with my father then?" She asked nervously.

"Yes, we've already contacted him and explained the situation," the police officer said. "You will be moving in with him after the…funeral… For the time being, we'll keep watch on you incase it WAS murder…I'm sure you understand where I'm getting at, correct?"

Misaki nodded, "I may be targeted too, huh?" She asked and saw the officer nod from the corner of her eye, "I understand, Sir…"

***

**Ambie's Second Note: **Yeah, the prologue is short, but the future chapters will be much, much longer! Reveiws are very much appriciated (did I spell that wrong?)


	2. Chapter One

**Ambie's Note: **Okie dokie, here's the first REAL chapter! Like I said at the end of the prologue, this is much, much longer. Once again, you'll see some similarities to P4...like the lil' girl! Hope ya enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Persona Series.

***

**Chapter One****:**

"Attention passengers who are getting off at Hagakue Station, we will be stopping shortly. Please make sure to gather all of your luggage." A female's almost robotic-sounding voice said over the intercom.

At the sound of the voice, Misaki opened her blue eyes and rubbed the sleep out of them. Luckily the speaker was loud enough to awaken her. She yawned and looked out of the train window and saw hills and mountains; a major change from the city setting she had been in not five hours ago.

Misaki wasn't too thrilled about moving in with her father; the two of them had never seen eye-to-eye, and she barely knew the 42 year old man. She sighed and reached for the luggage-space set directly over her head and grabbed her black suitcase. After a quick check to make sure nothing had fallen out, Misaki placed the case on her lap and just stared at it.

It had only been a short month since her mother's death, and the Hichuri Police Department had yet to discover a cause. Misaki had been told that there was no explanation, it had seemed like she climbed up the tree and slung herself over the branch and just died. There was no trauma, no illness, and there weren't even any signs of struggle. Because of Hichuri's residents' panic, the police dismissed the case as a suicide and left it at that.

Misaki's thoughts were cut off when she saw one of her tears fall to the suitcase and make a darker spot on the black cloth. With a sniff, Misaki wiped her eyes with her long, purple sleeve; she just couldn't understand why her mother would commit suicide. There had been no signs, in fact her mother's life had just been going back to normal and things were going her way; she had even had a date on that particular night.

Just as Misaki was getting ready to fall back into her sea of thoughts, the intercom tone went off. "Attention passengers, we have arrived at Hagakue station. Those who will be getting off please make sure you have your luggage and wait until the train comes to a complete stop to stand. When getting off please watch your step; thank you for choosing Gagarin Railways, I hope your experience was an enjoyable one." The female's voice said as the train slowed on the tracks.

After a few seconds the train came to a complete stop and only a few passengers—including Misaki—stood up. Misaki followed the small group of people to the doors and exited the train; she traveled down four stairs and came to a stop on gray concrete. Immediately after emerging from the train, Misaki looked around for anybody who was familiar to her, but she had no luck in that department.

She sighed and walked over to a red bench and sat down next to a lonely-looking young girl; Misaki didn't say anything to her though, she just sat still and searched for her father. Out of the corner of her eye, Misaki saw the little blonde girl staring at her with a curious expression on her sweet face. Misaki didn't respond to the child's stares, she was used to it.

"Excuse me," the little girl said, addressing Misaki, "who are you waiting for?"

Misaki turned to the young girl with a kind smile, "I'm waiting for my dad; he's supposed to pick me up and take me to his house." She said with the smile still on her face. "What about you, are you waiting for someone?"

The little girl nodded, her curly, blonde ponytail bouncing with each movement of her head. "Uh-huh, my Dad went to the bathroom and told me to wait here for him to come back," she explained. "We're supposed to be waiting for someone to get off the train from the big city, but he won't tell me who; he said it was going to be a surprise."

Misaki smiled happily at the little girl who had done a wonderful job in cheering her up, "What your name?"

"My name's Tsukiki Tsubaku," she said with a sweet smile, "my dad's name is Kazuki Tsubaku."

Misaki's eyes widened at the fact that she and Tsukiki shared the same last name and their fathers had the same name. Did that mean that this little girl was her half-sister, but that couldn't be right could it?

"Uh…what did you say your name was again," Misaki asked, trying to make sure she wasn't hearing things.

"Tsukiki Tsubaku," the little girl restated. "You didn't hear me before?"

"…and you said your dad's name is Kazuki," Misaki asked in shock.

Tsukiki nodded, "Yeah uh-huh, do you know Dad?"

"Yeah I do he's actually my dad as well and—" Misaki was cut off by Tsukiki's excited gasp.

"He's your dad too, that means we're sisters right!?" She asked happily and clapped with a giggle. "Yay, I won't be alone anymore! You and me can go to the beach and we can go to the mall and we can look at the little animals and buy soda pop!" Tsukiki exclaimed with the brightest smile Misaki had ever seen.

Misaki was surprised from Tsukiki's response, but there was something about the little girl that kept a happy smile on Misaki's face. "Do you like to go shopping?" Misaki asked kindly.

Tsukiki nodded with the same, bright smile, "Yeah, but Dad and me don't go out very much because Mom doesn't like to go anywhere anymore…" She said, her smile fading away.

Misaki looked at the young girl in concern, it was then that she realized that something was wrong with Tsukiki's mom. Carefully placing her words Misaki asked, "Why doesn't your mom like to go anywhere, is something wrong?"

Tsukiki kept her stunning blue eyes on Misaki and nodded, "Uh-huh, Mom's sick and she can't even walk anymore. I've asked Dad, but he won't talk about it…I've asked Mom too but she said I was too young to understand."

Misaki nodded, "I see…" she said, unable to think of anything else to say to sad girl.

For a while there was a heavy silence lingering over Tsukiki and Misaki, but it was interrupted when a middle-aged man walked up to the two of them. He had short, black hair that was worn to be spiky and his eyes were the same stunning blue as Tsukiki's and Misaki's. Although his eyes were stunning, there was a sadness that lingered in them. His face was scruffy and her wore a simple t-shirt and pair of well-worn blue jeans.

Tsukiki hopped off the red bench and ran to the man with a smile on her face, her blonde hair swinging from side-to-side as she ran to her father. "Dad, Dad, lookie I found the person we were looking for!" She exclaimed as Kazuki picked her up and embraced her.

Misaki looked away from her stranger of a dad and picked up her black suitcase, "Hi Dad…how've you been?" She asked as she approached him.

Kazuki shrugged with Tsukiki still in his arms, "Things have been better." He said simply with a sigh. "I see you met Tsukiki, I expect you two to get along well." He said with a fatherly smile. "It's been so long since we've talked that I haven't been able to tell you about Tsukiki, but at least the two of you have had the chance to meet." He put Tsukiki down and said, "Come on, I'll go ahead and take you to the car and give you a chance to get settled in at home."

Misaki nodded and walked with Tsukiki who grabbed her hand gently and led her through the train station happily. "When we get home I wanna show you all my stuffed animals and then I wanna show you my favorite thing to watch on TV and then—"

Kazuki laughed dryly and turned to Misaki, "You two have only just met, and Tsukiki already seems to have taken a liking to you."

"Of course Dad, Misaki is my Sissy," she exclaimed happily, "we're gonna do bunches of stuff together!"

Misaki giggled, "Yeah we will Tsukiki, that's a promise."

***

After a relatively short car ride, Kazuki pulled into a driveway and into a garage. Once the car was parked he pushed the red button on a small remote control and the garage door closed on its own. Misaki smiled at an expectant Tsukiki and exited the silver car; she helped Tsukiki out right after. Once the little girl's feet touched the concrete ground she took off running through a single door that Misaki suspected ended up taking her to the kitchen of the house.

Kazuki smiled at his eldest daughter and grabbed her suitcase and said, "I'll go ahead and take your bag up to your room." He trailed off slightly and closed the back door of his car; he headed to the door Tsukiki had recently run through.

Misaki could clearly sense the sadness her father was holding back, "Dad…what's wrong with your wife?" She asked after carefully thinking about her words. "Tsukiki told me that she was sick and doesn't go out anymore…what kinda illness does she have?"

Kazuki clearly clenched Misaki's bag's handle and looked down sadly, but he didn't say a word for a little bit. "I'm going to take your stuff upstairs, then I'll have to leave for work. Could you possibly put Tsukiki to bed by 9:30…she has school tomorrow and you do too." He explained, sounding strict. "I won't be home until after school tomorrow night, I want you to be home before 8:30 cuz supper'll be ready by then." He said and walked through the door without another word.

Misaki remained in the garage for a little while until Tsukiki came back out and tugged on her arm anxiously. "C'mon Sissy, I want ya to meet my mom!" The little girl said excitedly. "After you meet Mom, I wanna show you my stuffed animals and I want you to watch TV with me and—"

Misaki laughed and nodded at her younger sister's excitement, "Ok, ok, let's go meet your mom."

At that Tsukiki nodded happily and led Misaki into the house and up some stairs. After a short walk down a portrait-filled hallway, Tsukiki and Misaki ended up in front of a white door at the very end of the hallway. Tsukiki knocked on it three times with a bright smile on her round face.

"Mom, can I come in," the young girl called, "I want you to meet my sister!"

A woman's weak laughter was heard, "Alright Tsuki, you and your sister can come in if you want to." The ill woman said sweetly.

Tsukiki giggled and turned the golden knob; she led Misaki into a room that seemed to be all white. When she was completely in, Misaki's eyes immediately drifted to the large bed the sat against the wall. In the bed, a gorgeous, but ill-looking woman sat against the headboard with a single, white pillow behind her. As the two sisters walked into the room the woman smiled kindly at them, her blonde, curly hair was down and sat on her shoulders and framed her pale face. Her eyes weren't blue like Tsukiki's, but they were gray, perhaps at one time those eyes had been a deep blue.

Tsukiki climbed into the bed and snuggled with her obviously loving mother who wrapped a skinny arm around her daughter's small form. "Is this your sister Tsuki, are you going to introduce her to me?"

Tsukiki giggled happily with a nod, "Uh-huh! Mom this is Misaki, Misaki this is my mom," the little girl exclaimed in joy.

The woman smiled at Misaki, "You can call me Hikari…or even 'Mom' if you want to."

Misaki laughed and nodded, "It's nice to meet you Hikari-san." She said with a formal bow.

Hikari laughed her weak laughter, "I told you there was no need for formalities, just call me Hikari, that's as formal as I'll let you get." She said with a smile. "So how old are you Misaki?"

"I'm 17 as of last month," she responded with a smile.

Hikari nodded in understanding, "I see, so you'll be a 2nd year, huh?" She said and appeared to be thinking for a short moment. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Misaki's eyes widened and her face flushed red, "U—um…no…I—I don't…" She said nervously; she wasn't used to being asked questions like that, especially not from a grown woman.

Hikari laughed, "There's no need to be embarrassed, Kazuki is the first man I ever dated," she said, "it's ok to save yourself for one, special guy, but it's also ok to date off and on throughout High School." She explained while running her slim fingers through her—now sleeping—daughter's blonde hair. "Heh…looks like Tsuki used up all of her impressive amount of energy, huh?"

"Looks like it," Misaki said and smiled at the sleeping girl.

Hikari stopped running her fingers through Tsukiki's hair and looked down at her plain covers with a sad sigh, "It's pretty amazing how much she already likes you," she said with a smile and looked at Misaki. "The truth is I don't have much longer here. Day by day I can feel myself becoming weaker…I have a feeling that I'll soon lose my ability to speak…" She said and began to play with Tsukiki's hair once more. "I don't want to lose my ability to do simple things like play with my beautiful daughter's hair…but the doctors can't do anymore for me…" Hikari's gray eyes widened and she looked up at Misaki apologetically, "I'm sorry Misaki…dropping all of this on your right when you arrive is a little rude, yeah?"

Misaki shook her head, "No…in fact I was going to ask about it; Tsukiki was telling me that you all used to go out as a family but you can't anymore." She said and sighed. "I tried asking Dad about it, but he didn't say anything; this must be tough for him as well…"

Hikari continued to run her fingers through Tsukiki's blonde hair, "It's been tough for all of us…but I think it's been hardest for Kazuki…" She said and smiled sadly. "He's had to start working two other jobs just to get us by; not to mention his inability to open up to anybody…"

Misaki looked down, "Having me move in just makes matters worse, huh?"

Hikari smiled and shook her head, "No…I think it's best for you to have moved in. Tsukiki needs someone there for her…and Kazuki does too; like I said before, I don't have much longer…" She said calmly. "I didn't tell anybody this but…on my last doctor's visit I was given a time limit; one month." She said almost in a whisper and a few tears fell from her loving eyes. "I know that doesn't necessarily mean anything…but you have no idea what it's like to be given a time limit on life, especially if you have so much to live for…" She said, her voice breaking up; she lifted her head and looked at a picture of her, Tsukiki and Kazuki together.

Misaki had no idea what to say to anything; she had never known anybody who was given a time limit. It was true that she and Hikari had just met, but Misaki didn't know if she'd be able to handle the kind woman's death. She didn't understand why these things could happen to some of the best people in the world.

"Misaki," Hikari started, "if anything happens to me I want you to stay strong for the family in my place. As of right now you're the only one I can trust with a responsibility this huge…can you promise me?"

Misaki's eyes teared up and a few rolled down her face, "I—I don't know if I can," she said, "I don't know if I can handle anymore death…I just don't—"

Hikari smiled kindly, "Now, now, there's no need for you to cry; you and I only just met, why the tears?" She asked in that way that only a mother could.

"My mom…her life was ended so early…I—I just don't think it's fair," Misaki said while crying. "Even though I only just met you…I can't stand the thought of you being taken so early as well…I want you to be here for Tsukiki and my dad and—"

"Aww…" Hikari said sweetly, "I believe everything happens for a reason…even something like this. I believe—no I KNOW you will be the one to keep this family going even if I don't die…I just get this aura from you that tells me that everything will be ok."

Many more tears fell from Misaki's eyes for a few more minutes; after she felt her crying was through—a few minutes later—she wiped her eyes on her sleeve and sniffed. "I—I'm sorry Hikari," she apologized, "seeing me break down like this must change your opinion of me. Believe me, I want to be someone you can believe in, but I'm just going through a tough time right now; my mom's death and your illness I just—I'm sorry…"

Hikari smiled, "Don't worry yourself, I'll fight for as long as I need to and keep you strong." She said confidently. "How about this; you'll be my picture of hope, and I'll be yours."

Misaki smiled and nodded, "It's a deal…Mom." She said and didn't feel the least bit strange about it.

Hikari's hopeful smile remained, "Can you do me a favor and take Tsuki to her room please?"

"Ok, which one is hers," Misaki asked.

Hikari laughed lightly, "The one that has her name on the door, it's just a few doors down and on the left." She explained and Misaki nodded. "Thank you Misaki."

Misaki nodded once again and gently picked up Tsukiki from her mother's bed. When the young girl was in Misaki's arms, Tsukiki wrapped her arms around her sister's neck. After saying 'good night' to Hikari, Misaki carried Tsukiki to her room and tucked her into bed nice and cozy. Once she exited her younger sister's room, Misaki traveled down the hallway to HER room and went to bed herself; she started school the next morning and she couldn't be tired on her first day.

***

**Ambie's Second Note: **Did ya enjoy? I understand that the relationships are kinda rushed, but I guess Misaki is just a loving person *shrugs with a smile*. Like I said earlier Reviews are fun and I'd enjoy to have some!


	3. Chapter Two

**Ambie's Note: **Alrighty, this is Chapter Two. Have fun reading! Once again, note the similarities.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine, all Atlus!

***

**Chapter Two:**

"_Yes…I can clearly see the potential you have locked up in your heart Misaki-chan," an unfamiliar female voice whispered. "However…how you awaken your ability will be your choice when the time is right."_

_Misaki looked around the strange area in search for the owner of the female voice, but she had no luck in finding it. "Hello…who's calling to me? I can hear you, but I can't see you…can you show yourself?"_

_The voice chuckled light lightly and said, "I am afraid that is an impossibility, but the time we meet is near; it is dire that we meet under the correct circumstances."_

_Misaki turned around but still had no luck, "Can you tell me your name at least?"_

"_No, no…not at this time, but remember our meeting and be careful who you trust." The voice said, seeming to be warning Misaki about something. "Now, until we next meet, Dear."_

_Misaki opened her mouth to speak, but she new the woman was now gone._

***

There were three steady knocks at Misaki's bedroom door and a small voice said, "Sissy it's time for you to get up now!"

Misaki opened her blue eyes and wiped the sleep out of them, but she didn't respond to Tsukiki's calls; she just yawned and sat up in bed. She stretched her arms over her head and uncovered herself, swinging her legs over the futon. Once she got into a standing position she stretched her arms out once again; she walked to the bedroom door and opened it to see a happily smiling Tsukiki standing there.

Misaki yawned once again and smiled at her recently discovered sister. "G'morning Tsukiki-chan," she greeted, "did you sleep good last night?"

Tsukiki's adorable smile widened and she giggled, "Uh-huh, Mom said you carried me to my room last night; was I heavy?"

Misaki shook her head, "Nope, but you were sleeping like a rock."

Tsukiki tilted her head to the side in confusion, "huh? What do you mean 'like a rock'?" The innocent girl asked, the confused look adding to her adorable-ness.

Misaki giggled, "Never mind," she said. "What time does school start?"

"My school starts at 9:30 and ends at 2:00…I think the high school starts at the same time and ends at 3:00," the little girl said.

Misaki nodded, "Ok, so are you hungry Tsukiki, cuz I can make you and Hikari some breakfast if you want me to." She offered and saw Tsukiki's blue eyes widen in excitement which Misaki assumed meant yes. "Alright, so I can make: eggs over-easy, bacon, omelets with cheese in them, omelets with cheese AND bacon in them, and the easy stuff like cereal and toast." With another laugh at her sister's excitement Misaki said, "take your pick Tsukiki-chan."

Tsukiki jumped up and down happily and clapped her hands, "EGGS AND BACON, EGGS AND BACON!" She sang in the cutest voice while still hopping up and down in excitement. "Hey, hey, can I learn how to make eggs and bacon too!?"

Misaki laughed with another nod, "Of course you can Tsukiki, come on!" She exclaimed and grabbed her sister's small, left hand and they walked downstairs into the kitchen together happily.

After a short walk through the medium-sized house, the two sisters entered the kitchen and headed for the stove. With a laugh Tsukiki opened a small cabinet near the kitchen sink and pulled out a relatively new skillet and handed it to Misaki who accepted it and placed on the burner she planned on using. She turned on the burner using the knobs on the stove that indicated the correct instructions.

"Alrighty Tsukiki-chan, can you get me three eggs from out of the fridge," Misaki asked her sister who laughed again and opened the white fridge behind her.

Tsukiki brought the eggs to Misaki and gently placed them next to her older sister, "how much bacon do we need Sissy?"

"I think two slices for each of us will be ok, so that means we need—"

"SIX PIECES," Tsukiki exclaimed sounding proud of herself, "cuz two times three makes six!"

Misaki nodded with a laugh, "Good job, you're pretty fast with math, huh?"

Tsukiki walked from the fridge with six pieces of bacon placed neatly on a white paper plate, "Yeah, I'm the fastest in my class. I'm always the first one done with time tests and Sensei always complements me. She says that I could become a teacher too if I wanted, but I told her I'd rather be doctor."

After spraying the skillet with non-stick spray, Misaki placed it back on the burner and cracked the three eggs and began to cook them after throwing away the shells in a nearby trashcan. "Why do you wanna be a doctor Tsukiki-chan," she asked curiously. She wondered what made a seven year old girl be a doctor, usually kids her age would always talk about being astronauts and firemen.

Tsukiki looked up at Misaki with a smile, "Cuz I wanna be able to make people like Mom better." She said and looked down slightly. "I don't think families are supposed to have the kinda problems we do. Dad is never home, Mom can't go out…and I'm always alone…" she explained, but looked back up with a newly formed smile on her face. "But not anymore, cuz I have you around to play with; I don't have to be alone!"

Misaki flipped the eggs easily and began to have the opposite side cook, "Are you sad when you're alone Tsukiki-chan? Don't you get to stay the night at friends' houses and play outside on the beach with them?"

"I'm allowed, but I don't wanna," she responded, "I'm not ALWAYS sad when I'm alone cuz I have Mom upstairs, so if I get lonely I just go up there with her and we talk about stuff and watch TV."

When the eggs finished cooking, Misaki lifted the skillet from the burner and used a nearby plate to gently put the cooked eggs on. "Ok Tsukiki, you can go ahead and put the bacon in the pan; all six pieces will be fine." Misaki said, changing the subject before she depressed herself.

Tsukiki laughed and did as instructed, counting the pieces of bacon as she placed them in the still hot skillet. "…five and six!" She said happily as the last two pieces were set down, making the unmistakable sizzling sound.

For a couple of seconds, Tsukiki watched the pieces of bacon cook, but when grease began to splatter Misaki gently pushed her sister back. "Careful Tsukiki-chan, you can't stand so close to bacon while it's cooking cuz you can get burnt by the grease splatters."

"Aren't you in danger too since you've gotta stand so close to cook it," she questioned.

Misaki nodded, "Uh-huh, but I'm experienced with making bacon, which makes the cooking less dangerous." She answered. "If you practice with an experienced person watching closely, you'll be able to do it better."

"Practice makes perfect," Tsukiki exclaimed.

"Yup," Misaki replied and gathered all six pieces of bacon on her spatula. While moving the pan with the spatula, she placed the bacon on the same plate as the eggs. "There, all done," she said happily.

Tsukiki gasped lightly, "Already? I thought it would take longer to make something so good!"

Misaki smiled and turned off the stove, placing the pain in the oven area. "Nope, eggs and bacon is a really quick meal to make."

"Can I have some, can I have some!?" Tsukiki begged happily.

"Of course," she replied and grabbed three other paper plates from the nearby cabinet she saw Tsukiki get into before; she grabbed a fork and picked out an egg for Tsukiki. "One egg and two pieces of bacon for you, one egg and two pieces of bacon for me, and the same for Hikari!"

"HeeHee, yay," Tsukiki exclaimed and grabbed her plate. "Let's go upstairs and eat with Mom!"

Misaki laughed with a nod, "Alright, let's go!" She said and received an anxious nod from Tsukiki.

Misaki grabbed hers and Hikari's plates—one in each hand—and she followed Tsukiki up stairs and down the now familiar hallway that led to Hikari's white room. When they reached the door, Misaki urged Tsukiki to go ahead and enter. The little girl nodded and opened the door; with a smile Hikari greeted them.

"Good morning girls," Hikari said kindly. "Mmm…something smells excellent, what'd you two cook down there?"

Tsukiki bounced up and down slightly, careful to not spill her food, "Sissy made eggs and bacon for all of us, and I wanted us to eat together before school!"

Hikari laughed, "That sounds like fun, come on in and sit with me; we'll have a nice family breakfast together." She said and turned to Misaki with a thankful smile. "That mean you too, Young Lady," she joked and patted an area next to her.

Misaki smiled and sat down in the spot and handed Hikari her plate. The three of them ate breakfast happily and spent a few extra minutes talking, but too soon Misaki and Tsukiki had to leave and head to school to begin the day. After grabbing her school bag and getting ready, Misaki followed Tsukiki out of the house.

"You're school is on the way to mine, so we can walk together for a while." Tsukiki said with a smile on her face. "After school will you wait for me over there where the park bench is?"

Misaki's eyes followed to where Tsukiki was pointing and she nodded, "Sure, but don't you get out of school before me?"

Tsukiki giggled with a nod, "Oh yeah…heehee…ok I have an idea; I'll meet YOU here after I get outta school."

"Alright, but I want you to go home and check in with Hikari THEN you can meet me here; you're too young to be doing things without permission." Misaki said with a smile. "Not to mention: your mom may want to see you before you come out here."

Tsukiki nodded, "Okie-dokie, so after I check-in with Mom and get permission I'll meet you here and we can walk home together!"

Misaki nodded back, "Good girl, I'll see you after school." She said and the two sisters began walking in different directions to get to their different schools.

***

Misaki had been walking alone for a few minutes, although she was alone she was walking behind a group of High School students who—she assumed—would be her classmates. In all, there were five students in the group and they were talking, laughing and carrying on happily.

By accident Misaki began to eavesdrop on the group of students, "ZIP IT RYUUNOSUKE! I'M NOT INTERESTED IN HEARING ABOUT THAT!" One of the females in the group yelled angrily; Misaki supposed she had been wrong about them carrying on happily.

The tallest guy in the group busted out laughing, "Aw c'mon Tsubame, I know you secretly have a deep, burning urge to be with me. If you say 'no' I'm gonna come back with, 'how the hell do you explain last year when you followed me around EVERYDAY'? Just a lil FYI there Sweetie…"

The girl who had spoken previously balled her fist and punched the taller guy on the left arm, "SHUT UP," she yelled, then lowered her voice. "I told you never to speak of the 'accident' or else I'd kick you flirtatious ass," she warned threw clenched teeth; a glare apparent on her face.

The guy smirked and held his arms up in defeat, "Ok…fair is fair." He said and dropped his arms, rubbing his left one. "Damn Tsubame, you know you gotta a pretty strong punch behind your cute, innocent-looking exterior."

The girl growled in annoyance, "Do you wanna know what else I'm strong with BESIDES punching?"

The guy scratched the back of his head with a snicker, "I—I'd really rather not know what that meant…"

"Good, if you don't wanna find out I suggest you back the hell off! GOT IT," she yelled and turned her head from the guy.

Another, shorter, guy laughed and shook his head, "Man Ryuunosuke-senpai, you should really watch what you say to that girl; she could seriously kick your ass."

"Why would you even WANT to flirt with Tsubame-chan," a third guy asked, "you know her rep. and how quick to anger she is."

The first guy—now confirmed as Ryuunosuke—smirked with a nod, "Yeah, you're right, but I can't help that I'm attracted to both of the 'Tsu-Sisters,' they're both pretty hot; although Tsubaki is DEFINITELY the better choice…"

The other girl in the group looked up from the ground; she apparently hadn't been paying attention to what had just happened. "Huh, d—did either Yori-kun or Ryuunosuke-senpai say my name? I—I'm sorry I was deep in thought just a moment ago, can you repeat yourself?"

The shorter guy—apparently Yori—shook his head and Misaki could spot a slight blush across his face, "N—no that's ok Tsubaki-chan, neither of us said anything about you." He said and received a smile from the second girl, Tsubaki.

Ryuunosuke smirked, "Well we didn't say anything about you that was important anyways and—" he got cut off when he began to stumble forward. After a few more steps and ANOTHER stumble he fell face down on the concrete sidewalk beneath him.

His 'friends' just looked at him with laughs and walked away like nothing ever happened. When Misaki saw the other just walk away from the scene, she looked down at a motionless Ryuunosuke with wide eyes.

Out of the kindness of her heart, Misaki stopped and asked, "Um…are you ok?" Ryuunosuke moved his head back and forth and slowly began to pull himself up from the ground. "Uh…you just kinda fell and quit moving, so I was a little curious about a couple things."

Ryuunosuke shook his head back and forth and ran his fingers through his well-maintained dirty blonde hair. "Heh…yeah I'm ok, it's become a daily routine for me to trip there; the others used to care, but they just adapted to it and got tired of worrying."

Misaki smiled and bent down to pick up Ryuunosuke's scattered belongings, "Here ya go, all this stuff flew outta your bag." She said and handed him a few of his different-colored notebooks and a box of mechanical pencils.

Ryuunosuke gently took his belongings from Misaki, but he didn't look up at her. "Thanks," he said, and finally looked at her with a smile.

At first Misaki was cut off guard; this guy was DEFINITELY attractive. He had deep blue eyes and his short, dirty blonde hair was neatly styled to cover his forehead, but it wasn't plastered to his face; it had nice body to it. Although Misaki could only see a small portion of his ears, she could tell his left one was pierced two to three times. For a second Ryuunosuke just sat still on the ground, and that was when Misaki was able to tell he was actually pretty embarrassed by his fall, but he still seemed used to it.

Misaki quickly snapped herself out of the trance she was falling into and stood up, "My name's Misaki Tsubaku, as of today I'll be a 2nd year here." She introduced with a happy and anxious smile.

Ryuunosuke stood up as well and nodded at the introduction, "I'm Ryuunosuke Hanabi, I'm a 2nd year as well," he smirked, "it's definitely a pleasure to meet you Misaki-chan."

Misaki felt her face get hot and she imagined she had to be blushing pretty badly, thinking about it only made it worse for her. "Y—yeah, the pleasure's mine Ryuunosuke-kun."

"Heh, I bet," he said with another flirtatious smirk on his attractive face. "Since my 'wonderful' friends left me behind, do ya wanna walk with me; we could talk and—y'know—get to know each other." Ryuunosuke said with that SAME smirk.

Misaki realized by now that Ryuunosuke Hanabi had to be the school's biggest flirt, but she honestly didn't care; it wasn't like she was going to hook up with him, she just needed a few friends. With a smile Misaki nodded in agreement to Ryuunosuke's idea.

"I suppose, considering I don't know anybody I could use a friend," she said kindly. "Lead the way Ryuunosuke-kun."

After another smirk—which he seemed to do often—Ryuunosuke nodded and the two 2nd years walked casually to school. They didn't walk very long until Tsudandi High came into sight, it was strange since the school was so big and the town was so small. When the two students reached the school's double, glass doors Ryuunosuke showed Misaki to the Faculty Office in order for her to figure out what class she was in.

After a quick 'thanks' to Ryuunosuke, Misaki entered the office as Ryuunosuke headed to his classroom. Misaki entered the smallish Faculty Office and saw a young-looking teacher going through a filing cabinet searching for…something. "Excuse me, but my name is Misaki Tsubaku and today's my first day here; I'm not sure what class I'm in."

"Tsubaku you said," the teacher questioned as she lifted her head from the tons of files she was going through, "you're a 2nd year right?"

Misaki nodded, "Uh-huh."

The teacher nodded and her eyes widened as she glanced back into the cabinet, "THAT'S what I was looking for," she said and grabbed a light folder from the black cabinet, "your file with your info in it. Let's see," she started when she opened the folder, "you're from Hichuri city, huh? I enjoy shopping there, it's where I buy my clothes, but that's unimportant right now." The teacher flipped through several packets of paper and stopped at a blue one, "aha, here it is; you're in class 2-3 which mean your teacher is…Ms. Shanagi."

"Class 2-3 you said," Misaki asked.

"Uh-huh, that's on the second floor, third room down the hall." The unknown teacher explained. "It's not too hard to figure out considering it's the only room that has any sort of decorations on the classroom door. If that's not enough for you to find it, it's the one that has a fancy banner that reads: 'Welcome 2nd Years!'"

Misaki laughed lightly and nodded, "Thanks for the help." She said and exited the Faculty Office and headed up the stairs.

***

The walk to her classroom was a pretty dull one, considering that she was walking alone and slightly confused by the High School's layout. After a short while though, Misaki saw the door with the fancy banner the teacher in the Faculty Office had been talking about; she laughed when she saw how cheesy the banner really was. Soon after she shook away her laughter and laid her hand on the door's handle and slid it to the left; she walked in right when there was enough space for her and closed it when she was all the way in.

Once the sliding door had been closed, Misaki turned around and looked at the unfamiliar faces of her new classmates. She looked through all of them and didn't recognize any; she didn't even think she saw them on her way to school. That thought was pretty depressing for her since she had really hoped that she'd be put in Ryuunosuke's class, but she knew she wouldn't always get what she wanted.

As she walked towards an empty seat in the middle of the class, but she stopped when the sliding door opened up again. "GET YOUR ASS IN THERE YORI," a familiar voice yelled as a classmate fell through the door and landed on the ground.

"HURRY UP YOU GUYS," a random female in the class exclaimed, "you CANNOT be late again or Shanagi will SHOOT you!"

"Don't worry we'll—" the guy that had fallen into the classroom started, but he got cut off as the tardy-bell went off.

"YORI GET UP," the other voice exclaimed, "IF WE'RE NOT IN OUR SEATS BY THE TIME SHANAGI GETS IN WE'LL—"

The second set of doors that led to the classroom opened and an older lady walked in angrily, "What's going on, why aren't you two IN YOUR SEATS IN THE CLASSROOM; THE BELL HAS RUNG!"

Yori quickly shot up from the ground and pretty much dashed to the empty seat Misaki was heading for, "Sorry but this seat is mine." He whispered to her. "You better hurry and sit down or else—"

"SHUT UP," the older woman yelled to the class, but she quickly turned to the other opened door. "HANABI, GET YOUR D-AVERAGE ASS INTO THIS CLASSROOM OR I WILL HAVE YOU THIS AFTERNOON FOR DETENTION!"

Misaki's eyes widened at the familiar name, and she turned to the door and saw none other than Ryuunosuke rush in and shut the door quickly behind him. "Heh-heh…sorry about that Ms. Shanagi Ma'am, but—"

The woman crossed her arms and glared at Ryuunosuke, "Your stories do not interest me Hanabi, the bell has rung and your shenanigans have halted this class for long enough. GET TO YOUR SEAT BEFORE I RIP UP YOUR MIDTERM AND GIVE YOU A ZERO!"

Ryuunosuke's deep blue eyes went wide and he rushed to an empty seat right next to Yori's, but he didn't seem to notice Misaki standing in the middle of the classroom in 'confused mode.' Suddenly Misaki felt a pair of burning eyes on her back, her eyes went wide and she turned around slowly, wearing her most innocent smile.

When Misaki completely turned around she saw that the eyes belonged to the woman in the doorway, "Oh…um…uh…hi, my name is Misaki Tsubaku and I'm a—"

The woman smiled kindly, "Why hello there, Misaki, are you the new transfer student?"

Misaki looked around nervously, "Uh…yeah I—"

"I thought so, I'm Ms. Shanagi; I suppose I'll be your homeroom teacher for this school year," she said. "Please, go ahead and stand in the front of the class and tell them a little about yourself."

At this point Misaki was beyond the confused point, but she did as the crazy teacher instructed and headed to the front of the room. "Um…hey, my name's Misaki and I, uh, hope that you'll all be nice to me and we can all get along as friends," she said with a friendly smile towards the entire class.

Ms. Shanagi applauded as she walked to the front of the class and to her podium, "Very well said Misaki-chan." She said and glanced through the class; she nodded soon after. "Go ahead and sit in any of the empty seats and we can begin the class!"

Misaki looked around and studied the confused faces of her classmates, "Uh, sure thing Ms. Shanagi." She said and sat in the seat right next to Ryuunosuke and Yori; the only familiar faces in the classroom.

Right when Ms. Shanagi began to lecture the class, Ryuunosuke leaned towards Misaki, "I had no idea you'd end up in here Misaki-chan."

Misaki shrugged and smiled at Ryuunosuke, "I dunno, I guess it's a coincidence."

Yori leaned towards her as well and smiled happily, "So you're the girl Ryuunosuke was talkin' about earlier, my name's Yori by the way. Heh, I must say you're everything I imagined; if Ryuunosuke feels like—"

Ryuunosuke smacked his friend upside the head, "Zip it Yori, or I'll tell a certain 'Tsu-Sister' about you're TRUE feelings."

Yori scratched the back of his blonde head with an arched eyebrow, "What feelings? I don't like either of them like that, I just happen to think they're both pretty damned fine…but I'm not sure which is better. We have Tsubaki who is quiet, intelligent, sweet and caring, then we have Tsubame who is loud, trouble-making, kinda bitchy and aggressive."

Ryuunosuke arched an eyebrow of his own, "If you're putting it that way isn't obvious who's the better choice?"

Yori smirked and shrugged, "No, cuz I think Tsubame's aggressiveness is pretty hot, and I think Tsubaki's sweetness is hot. Have you ever met a single person who had those two qualities, I'll answer that; NO!"

Ryuunosuke smirked and laughed lightly, "You have a point there, but who knows, maybe there is a person out there like—"

Misaki rolled her eyes at the two chattering boys, "ZIP IT!" She commanded through clenched teeth. "As for right now I'm trying to get caught up with the class, maybe after I know where we are we'll ALL have a nice conversation while our crazy-ass teacher is lecturing," she growled angrily and listened to the lecture again.

Yori raised an eyebrow, "Didn't you say she was a nice girl who helped you this morning?"

"Yeah, but maybe she's the girl who is both aggressive and sweet," Ryuunosuke suggested, "but if that's the case, I call dibs."

"What, didn't you say your dream girl had to be—"

"Shut up Yori, I'd like to pay attention right now."

Yori shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Since when?" he asked and turned to Ms. Shanagi; he began to pay attention himself.

***

**Ambie's Second Note: **That was Chapter Two! Reviews are fun and I'd very much appriciate them!


	4. Chapter Three

**Ambie's Note: **Here's number three, FUN-NESS! Once again, I'm sure there are a few similarities. ENJOY!

**Disclaimer: **Still not mine, no matter how awesome it'd be...

***

**Chapter Three****:**

"…for your homework this evening, I want you to do problems 7-19 odds; NO LOOKING IN THE BACK OF THE BOOK HANABI!" Ms. Shanagi said as the bell rang to release the students for the day and Ms. Shanagi exited the class immediately after; she obviously wasn't too into the whole teaching thing.

The way Tsudandi High worked was this; students started the day with their Homeroom Teacher, then the teacher switched out for five classes in between until the end of the day when your Homeroom Teacher teaches a second class. It was different from what Misaki was used to, but it wasn't a huge change from her last school. The only thing that was 'drastically' different was the fact that all the students in the school ate lunch together for an hour, but that was a good change.

As Misaki started putting her books into her bag, she was startled by a slam on her desk, "So Misaki-chan…how ya liking this school? It's gotta be pretty different from your old one in Hichuri City, right?" Ryuunosuke asked curiously, joined by Yuri.

Misaki zipped her bag up and shrugged simply, "I dunno…it's kinda different, but for the most part it's the same."

"How's it different," Yori asked.

Misaki looked at Yori and smiled, "The biggest difference I've picked out so far is the fact that the guys here are…different from the ones back home."

By this point, Misaki could tell that Ryuunosuke's curiosity had been peaked again, "How so; more attractive, less attractive, nicer, jerky-er, etc?" He asked with a smirk on his attractive face that Misaki had gotten used to throughout the entire day.

"More attractive and strangely nicer, but that doesn't mean I'm talking about you though Ryuunosuke-kun," she replied with a light laugh.

Yori smirked, "'Course you weren't talkin' about Ryuunosuke, cuz you were talkin' about me right?"

Misaki laughed and pat Yori on the head, "Maybe, maybe not…I hardly know you guys."

Ryuunosuke smirked again and cleared his throat, "My name's Ryuunosuke Hanabi, I'm 17 years old, I've lived in this town for a year, my favorite color is green, my favorite food is definitely ramen, I like a variety of music," he listed and smiled at Misaki again and cleared his throat once more, "I enjoy going to the beach, I play on the soccer AND basketball teams, I'm a bit of a flirt, but I can't help the fact that I like girls…uh…damn, what else is there!?"

Misaki raised an eyebrow, "Ryuunosuke what're you—"

Yori smirked like Ryuunosuke had done before, "I'm Yori Kintoka, I'm 17 years old, I've forever lived in this town, MY favorite color is blue, I enjoy eating anything that involves meat, my favorite drink is anything that has caffeine in it, I listen to whatever type of music that's playing on the radio," he said in one breath, "I don't play any sport but I was 'jokingly signed up' for the Drama Club by somebody named Ryuunosuke, I like to joke around with anyone who will play along and um…uh…shit, I ran outta stuff to say."

Misaki blinked cluelessly a couple of times, "Uh…ok so what was all that about; just so you know I barely processed any of that and—"

She was cut off by Ryuunosuke, "Alrighty Misaki-chan, Yori and I just told ya everything we could think of about ourselves; it's your turn to tell us about you."

"Say what now," Misaki questioned.

Yori crossed his arms, "C'mon, it's only fair Misaki-chan."

Misaki sighed in annoyance, "Fine, ok," she said and thought to herself for a second. "I'm Misaki Tsubaku, I'm 17 years old, I just moved here from Hichuri, my favorite color is any type of blue, my favorite food is anything that's NOT made with tofu," she trailed of momentarily to think of what else to say, "I like any music that's not boring, I'm a black belt in karate and I'm involved with two other forms of Martial Arts, I enjoy talking to people about IMPORTANT matters…uh…that's about all I can think of right this second."

Ryuunosuke nodded with a smile, "What about your 'type,' y'know, what kinda guy you're into?"

Misaki blushed slightly, "HUH!? You and Yori didn't say anything about your type, so why should I?"

Yori sighed and nodded, "Fair, fair," he said. "I prefer someone who has an aura of mystery surrounding their usually open exterior, I like a girl who is aggressive, but I also like a girl who's a sweetie. Looks aren't quite as important as their attitude, but if you're just plain gross and ugly, I ain't gonna bother approaching you…it may sound kinda jerky, but that's the truth."

Misaki nodded, "I can understand the 'gross and ugly' part, but I also agree you sorta sound like a dick." She said and turned to Ryuunosuke who appeared to have a light blush across his face. "What about you Ryuunosuke-kun, I'll tell if you go before me."

Ryuunosuke's blush disappeared and his previously nervous expression changed to his cocky smirk, "Alright, I hope you have a pen and paper ready to take notes Misaki-chan, cuz I know how much you're into me," he said with a grin. "Ok…I like a girl who's independent, but not to the extent that she doesn't need my protection, although I'm not sure what kinda protecting a girl'd need here. I like happy girls who have the ability to change the atmosphere in a room for the better, but I don't want them to be loud and always bouncing off the walls. Like Yori said, looks aren't the important thing, but she can't be shit-ugly either. I uh—never mind, it's your turn Misaki-chan; what kinda guy do you like?"

Misaki could sense that there was more to Ryuunosuke's description, but she dismissed it. "Fine, ok…I'll tell you but don't go around tellin' the world," she said and sighed. "I prefer a guy that's willing to listen to my problems, in return I'll listen to his. I don't wanna guy who's overly jealous, but I'd like him to let people know we're together; y'know a guy who'll willingly stand up and say 'she's my girl and I'm proud of it.'" By this point Misaki could feel her face getting hot, but she chose to dismiss it and continue with her description. "I like a guy who has a sense of humor, and knows the wrong and right times to use it; he's gotta be able to cheer me up when I'm not feeling too happy. The most important thing to me is that he'll give me time to get used to him before approaching me with: 'hey Misaki, do you wanna go out with me; we can make-out behind the Grocery Store!' Ugh, I can't even stand the thought of some guy I've never seen before coming up to me and asking me out!" She explained leaving the parts that involved 'lots of love and sweetness and romance' out of her description.

Yori blinked a few times seeming confused, "You don't care if he's shit-ugly?"

Misaki laughed lightly, "Well if he's actually 'shit-ugly' I'm not gonna do EVERYTHING as planned; I probably wouldn't like a relationship that involved lots of kissing and cuddling, but I'd give the guy a chance if he gave me the chance to get to know him and he promised to be faithful."

"So a manwhore like Ryuunosuke is outta the question then, Misaki-chan," Yori asked with a smirk towards his friend.

Ryuunosuke's deep blue eyes widened, "'MANWHORE,' I'm definitely NOT a manwhore Yori!" He exclaimed and shook his head. "A flirt/womanizer would've been A LITTLE more appropriate for me…I just don't like the thought of being called a manwhore by anyone…"

Misaki raised an eyebrow, "So you ARE a womanizer…meaning Yori-kun was right when he said you were outta the question."

Ryuunosuke shook his head, "No…I'm not just talkin' to girls cuz I wanna get in their pants, I actually ENJOY talking to 'em; honestly I'm not lookin' for a relationship with anyone."

Yori smirked and nodded, "I knew that, I just enjoy making you look like a dickhead." He said and turned to Misaki with a flirtatious grin on his face. "Y'know Misaki-chan, Ryuunosuke may not be lookin' for a relationship, but I am; if you're interested I can give you my number and other contact information."

Misaki shook her head with a laugh, "I don't mind getting your contact info, but it's not because I'm interested in being with you in a relationship; I'll just accept the info so I can call to talk to you…maybe…" She said. "Alright, what is it?"

"Sweetness," Yori said and grabbed a piece of paper from his folder and a pen; he quickly—and sloppily—jotted down his home phone number and his cell number on the sheet and handed it to Misaki. "If you can't get a hold of me on one, call the other."

Misaki nodded and attempted to read the sloppy writing, "Ok…is that a 5 or an 8, cuz I definitely can't tell. What about this one, is that a 3 or an 8…damn Yori your writing sucks majorly."

Yori crossed his arms and turned away from Misaki's annoyed expression, "Well I'm sorry that I'm a guy who doesn't give a shit about my handwriting!"

Misaki laughed and looked at Ryuunosuke who seemed to be upset about something, "Ryuunosuke-kun…can you give me your number and other contact info?" She asked, deciding to not bother Ryuunosuke with questions about his current state.

"Oh…sure, do you have paper and a pen," he asked and Misaki handed him the paper she had just received from Yori that had extra space on it, "thanks." He said and began to write…A LOT neater that Yori.

Once he finished soon after, he handed the sheet back to Misaki who accepted it happily. "Thanks Ryuunosuke, I can actually read EVERYTHING you wrote down…unlike a certain someone named YORI!" She said and tucked the sheet into her jacket pocket and glanced at the clock on the wall; her eyes went wide when she saw the time. "SHIT, it's already 3:30!? I was supposed to meant Tsukiki a half-hour ago…I've gotta go now; I might call one of you two tonight…that or I'll text you, that way you can get my number and stuff." She said and rushed for the classroom door. "C'ya tomorrow guys," she said and added in a whisper, "man I hope she hasn't been waiting too long."

Once Misaki exited Classroom 2-3, she rushed down the single flight of stairs and headed for the double, glass doors of the school building. After she ran out of the building, she headed straight for the spot Tsukiki had told her about earlier that day; she just hoped that Tsukiki wasn't upset or scared because of Misaki's carelessness.

***

Misaki ran down the road towards the park that she some how remembered from this morning. She remembered where it was, but Tsukiki never told her where she would be waiting, Misaki just hoped that her seven year old sister would be easily found.

Misaki ran for a few more minutes, until she reached a bench in the park area. Luckily there was a semi-loud, "Hey Sissy, where have you been?"

Misaki quit running and followed the voice of her kid sister, "I'm SOO sorry Tsukiki, a couple of guys were talking to me and I lost track of time and—you weren't waiting too long were you?"

Tsukiki smiled up at her sister and hopped off the white bench, her curled ponytail bouncing as she stood. "Nope, I was only here for a couple of minutes; me and Mom talked a little before I left."

Misaki couldn't help but feel a wave of relief wash over her, "Good, but I'm still sorry; I didn't forget I promise."

Tsukiki laughed and nodded, "Okie-dokie, I believe you Sissy." She said and smiled sheepishly. "You said you were talking to guys, are they your boyfriends?"

Misaki was shocked by her sister's sudden question, "Huh!? No…they're just some guys in my home room and we just met today and—"

"Didja get their phone numbers, is that why you were late," Tsukiki asked with a grin that seemed out of place on the face of a 1st grader.

Misaki's face turned red and she laughed nervously, "Uh…um…well, kinda, but I didn't PLAN on this to happen it just—"

Tsukiki giggled and lightly smacked her sister on her left arm, "I'm just kidding Sissy; I just figured that you'd want a boyfriend or something…"

Misaki blinked cluelessly a few times, "Tsukiki…why would you know about this; you're only in elementary school!"

Tsukiki giggled again with a shrug, "So, just cuz I'm younger than you, you don't think that I know what a 'boyfriend' is? Heehee…you're funny Sissy!"

Misaki laughed with a nod, "Ok, ok…I won't question you anymore." She said and shook her head. "SO," she exclaimed, anxious to change the uncomfortable subject, "are ya hungry Tsukiki? If you wanna; I've gotta little bit of money on me, maybe we can get some take-out?"

Tsukiki gasped and hopped up and down happily, "Ok, let's go get some Chinese Food; I love the Sweet n' Sour Chicken!" She said excitedly while continuing to bounce. "Or if you don't want any Chinese, we can go to the Ramen Shop and get some Miso Ramen and we can eat until our bellies pop out cuz we're so full!"

Misaki smiled kindly at her young sister and nodded, "Whichever one you want Tsukiki; I'm buying so we CAN eat until 'our bellies pop out'!"

"I get to choose, Dad always chooses," Tsukiki said in disbelief and slightly bitterly, but she smiled right after. "Ok…we can go get Ramen so it won't cost so much; I wanna be able to do this everyday, so you can't go spending all of your money!"

Misaki laughed and nodded, "Everyday huh? Guess that means I'm gonna have to find a part-time job then."

Tsukiki laughed and grabbed Misaki's right hand, "Yup, I guess so!" She exclaimed and began to run towards the center of Hagakue. "Let's go Sissy, we're gonna have so much fun eating like fat piggies!"

At that Misaki laughed and followed Tsukiki without complaint. The two sisters walked and talked for a few minutes, until they approached a Specialty Ramen Restaurant. The building was small, but it was rather nice, the doors were glass and double and when the customers walked through them a glorious bell sounded alarming the Chefs that someone is ready to eat their food. When the doors closed behind the girls, Misaki looked around and saw that the smallish place was rather packed; mostly with High School students still in their uniform.

Tsukiki still had a hold of Misaki's hand, but she looked up at her elder, half sister with a grin, "This place is called Ashita Koso Ramen which means 'Tomorrow for Sure Ramen,' it's always full like this on the weekdays after school."

Misaki nodded, "It's understandable considering the High Schoolers eat at 11am and are stuck in the same classroom from 12-3." She said and she and Tsukiki walked to two empty stools and took their seats.

The Head Chef walked up to the counter and smiled at Tsukiki, "Hey there, Tsukiki-chan; it's been a while since you've been here. How're Hikari and Kazuki doing," he asked kindly.

Tsukiki smiled up at the older man, "Mom and Dad are doing good." She said and looked at Misaki with a giggle. "This is my Sissy Misaki, she just moved in with me, Mom and Dad yesterday!"

The Chef looked at Misaki with a smile, "Hi there Misaki-chan, my name's Akira Jiombu; you can just call me Akira, there aren't any needs for formalities."

Misaki nodded and smiled at the kind man, "Hi there." She said. "So Tsukiki tells me that your Miso Ramen is good."

Tsukiki laughed and bounced in her stool, "Uh-huh, uh-huh; it's my favorite, but I like the chicken, the beef and all the other kinds too!"

Akira laughed happily and nodded, "She sure does, she's not picky like a lot of my other younger customers."

Tsukiki nodded triumphantly with a happy grin, "Yup-yup, I'm not picky!" She said and looked at Akira with the same grin. "Okie-dokie Chef-man, can I have a LARGE Miso Ramen please!?" She ordered excitedly and turned to Misaki. "What are you gonna get Sissy, you should get the same as me!"

Misaki laughed lightly but nodded in agreement, "Alright, I'll have what she's having." She said and received a nod from Akira and he disappeared into the kitchen of the Ramen Shop. While the chef worked Misaki tilted her head in curiosity, "I wonder why this pace is called 'Ashita Koso,' it's kinda weird when you think about it; 'tomorrow for sure,' I dunno it just seems kinda strange to me."

Tsukiki raised a light eyebrow at her sister's mumbling, "Huh, what did ya say Sissy?"

Misaki escaped her sea of thoughts and smiled at Tsukiki, "Nothin' I just think this place has a funny name."

"I do too, but it's not nice to tell the people that," Tsukiki said, "that's what Dad told me anyways."

Misaki nodded, "Do you do a good job listening to Dad?" She asked, curious about Tsukiki's mannerisms.

"Yup I do," she answered, "I only answer the phone for somebody I know, I only answer the door for people I know and I don't talk back; I do what Dad says the first time he says it!"

Misaki smiled and pat her blonde sister on the head, "Good girl; your Sissy is proud of you!"

Tsukiki smiled excitedly at the loving gesture of her newly-found sister, "Heehee, and YOUR Sissy is proud of you too!"

"Why's that," Misaki asked and quit patting Tsukiki's head.

Tsukiki giggled, "Cuz you have money and we got Ramen together," she exclaimed, "keep up the good work Sissy!" She complemented and hopped out of the stool she was positioned on and wrapped her arms around Misaki's waist in a loving hug.

Misaki didn't pull away, she just returned the hug and kissed her little sister on the top of her head. Although the two of them only met the previous day, Misaki couldn't help but feel loving towards Tsukiki; she had always wanted to looked up to as a 'big sister,' and Tsukiki did a good job doing so.

After a couple of seconds, Tsukiki stopped hugging Misaki and hopped back into her stool and waited for the order. The two sisters didn't have to wait too long until Akira returned with the large bowls of Miso Ramen; they were placed in front of the two customers.

"Alrighty then girls, the total's gonna be 120 yen and—actually I think I'll discount that cuz one of you is a new customer," He said and thought to himself for a second and nodded right after. "Ok, the total's gonna be 50 yen."

Misaki nodded with a happy smiled and removed 50 yen from her wallet she had had in her coat pocket all day; she laid the money on the counter and Akira accepted it. The Head Chef headed back to the kitchen after a kind, "thank you."

Tsukiki and Misaki giggled happily at how well prepared the bowls looked, "Aren't ya excited Sissy!? This Miso Ramen is gonna taste SOO good," Tsukiki asked and started bouncing in her stool again, "YAY!" She exclaimed and reached for two packages of chopsticks and handed one package to Misaki.

"Thanks Tsukiki," she said and opened the white-packaged eating utensils. Once they were open Misaki threw the plastic into the trash and pulled the wooden sticks apart; Tsukiki did the same.

At that, the two sisters exchanged looks and giggles and began to eat the well-prepared meal. Right when the first bite went into Misaki's mouth, she gasped at the amazing goodness that was the food; it was probably the best tasting ramen she had ever eaten at a restaurant.

After a few minutes of eating, then FINISHING the food Tsukiki and Misaki disposed of their chopsticks and left the bowls on the counter; they left the restaurant right after. When they got outside, Misaki looked up at the sky and saw that the moon was to be full tonight. For some strange reason, Misaki felt like something bad was going to happen, but she couldn't explain it or even take a GUESS at it.

"Ooh the moon's gonna be full tonight," Tsukiki said while also looking at the sky; she giggled. "It's been a long time since the moon has been full when the weather was good…the last few months it was raining and stuff."

Misaki smiled wiping her mind of the bad thoughts, "Do you like the full moon Tsukiki?"

"Uh-huh," she replied, "I like to go out in the backyard and lay in the grass and look up at the sky; it's really pretty cuz you can see the stars and the moon's craters and—"

Misaki listened to Tsukiki's energetic explanation as the two of them walked back to their house. Although Tsukiki's innocence and enthusiasm made Misaki happy, Misaki was still unable to completely wipe away the bad thoughts…she decided that she'd be careful even if she didn't need to be.

***

**Ambie's Second Note: **Not much to say except that I like reviews and all that stuff! Hope you're enjoying this story...


	5. Chapter Four

**Ambie's Note: **I'm getting lazy with my notes...I dunno if that's good or not, but it IS true. Well...same as all the other chapters, similarities ARE present; enjoy them or hate them I dunno...

**Disclaimer: **See the previous chapter; it ain't mine.

**Chapter Four****:**

When Tsukiki and Misaki got back to their house, they spent time with Hikari until 9pm when Tsukiki fell asleep. After saying goodnight to Hikari, Misaki put Tsukiki to bed and walked downstairs, into the living room. Although she had tried the whole night to wipe away her bad thoughts they were still there in the back of her mind. The feeling was worsened when Kazuki failed to come home at 7pm like Tsukiki AND Hikari had said.

Misaki grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned the TV to the news. She watched for a while, listening to mostly good news, but towards the end of the newscast it seemed like the atmosphere in the news studio had changed for the anchors.

The female anchor tapped her papers and looked into the camera, "Now an update on the recent kidnapping of 18 year old, 3rd Year, Marakushi Yamatama," she said and the camera turned to the male anchor who nodded.

"Yes, it appears that—sadly—the 18-year-old's body turned up," he said, "the teen was found in the backyard of his own home dead Monday morning. Family and friends will always remember the boy as 'kind and loving to anybody and everybody.' This student's death has shaken his hometown of Hagakue; a small town on the east side." He explained, sort of seeming out of order. "An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday, the 14th of March 2012. We will be sure to update you as soon a further information is uncovered about this unfortunate death."

Upon hearing that, Misaki couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable being alone in her house; she hit 'up' on the remote control and began to watch a light-hearted cartoon. She watched for a few minutes and the show cut off to go to a commercial break.

A dull background was seen and a black-haired girl with blue highlights popped her head into the frame with an excited smile on her beautiful face. "Oh no…it appears that excitement is nonexistent in this dull, dull room." She said with a distinctive Australian accent and a paint can appeared in the middle of the black and gray room. "It's time to do some sprucin' up, mates; KOKORO!" She exclaimed and completely entered the frame with a paint brush as fun music began to play in the background and she began to paint the room with many varieties of color that played in fast-motion. After about 5 seconds of Kokoro Sabadi painting the room she turned to the camera and wiped her forehead with splatters of paint on her face and pointed to words appearing on the wall behind her that said; 'Complete Series Box-set of The Kokoro Show Now Available.' She giggled happily. "Kokoro says; 'The Kokoro Show might've reached it's final epie, but that doesn't mean the fun hasta end there! Go on out there and buy yourselves my series box-set, mates KOKORO'!" She said and the opening music to the TV show began to play and she danced happily until the next commercial.

Misaki smiled at her favorite actress, "I love that show." She said quietly, but enthusiastically.

Kokoro Sabadi was a loved and wonderfully well-known actress in the teenaged group. She was from Australia originally, but she became famous in Japan when she was eight and told off a news reporter who was reporting how hunting sea animals benefited the economy of the country. She had been randomly picked to be interviewed and she had told the reporter how she really felt that, 'why is killing innocent animals acceptable, but killing a human being is not; the animals aren't the ones overrunning the planet, humans are!'

Misaki remembered that newscast well and she became an instant fan of an Australian girl that had never been heard of before; Misaki and millions of other people around the world. Eventually—when she was 10—Kokoro Sabadi was asked to play in an episode of a famous TV show. The girl's talents were praised by actresses everywhere and she eventually was given a full-time part in that show. When the final episode came around, the world still couldn't get enough of Kokoro's talents and cuteness and beauty; she was offered to create her own TV show which also became known worldwide.

Even while 'The Kokoro Show' was still going strong, Kokoro became even MORE famous when she began singing. When the Australian released her first CD, billions and billions of copies were sold within the first MONTH of its release. After the astounding number of sales, Kokoro continued her show and kept singing as well, releasing two more CDs and working on a third.

Misaki continued to watch TV until the cartoon ended at 10pm; she sighed and turned the TV off and headed up to her bedroom to work on her homework she had lazily put off. When she got to her room, she couldn't stop herself from looking out of the window, feeling slightly paranoid because of the news about the 3rd Year, but she dropped it pretty quickly.

Misaki opened her bag and pulled out her green math book and began working on her six problems that were assigned to her. She finished them with ease and closed her book after only 15 minutes, but she still wasn't ready to go to sleep. Instead she grabbed her black cell phone; she grabbed the sheet of paper she had used to get Ryuunosuke's and Yori's numbers.

"Might as well give 'em my contact info and stuff," she said and began to text Ryuunosuke.

The text said, 'hey there Ryuunosuke-kun this is Misaki I just wanted ta text u & give u my # cya school tomorrow ^_^!' After finishing the explanation point, Misaki sent the message to Ryuunosuke's number. A couple of seconds passed before the phone said that the message was sent.

Misaki sat down on her bed and attempted to read whatever Yori had written down; she spent 5 whole minutes trying to decipher the 7 digits. After she grew overly annoyed she just decided to guess at it and hope for the best; she would apologize if she received a text back that said she had the wrong number.

With a sigh, Misaki began to write the same message, only it said 'Yori-kun' instead of 'Ryuunosuke-kun.' Once she finished the final punctuation, Misaki sent the message to the number she THOUGHT was Yori's and flipped it closed.

After a couple of seconds the phone made a chiming sound that Misaki had never heard before. Out of curiosity, she opened her phone and saw a strange and undecipherable image on her phone's screen. It was a silhouette of what looked like a human head and shoulders, but no features could be seen or even guessed at; the image was fuzzy and the strangely color-changing background was making Misaki strain her eyes and unable to focus.

She continued to TRY and figure out the image, but suddenly a pure black 'hand' of sorts reached OUT of the phone and grabbed Misaki's arm tightly. Immediately she attempted to scream for help, but nothing would escape her mouth.

"Thou hast discovered the secrets," an eerie voice hissed as a strange portal of sorts appeared before her, "for that thou shalt not be spared."

Misaki's blue eyes were wide as the hand began to pull her into the portal. She was breathing short, heavy breaths as she struggled with all the strength the adrenaline she now felt granted her, even then she was no match for the sheer strength of the hand and she was pulled into the black and white portal.

***

Misaki opened her eyes slowly and took in her surroundings, but it didn't accomplish anything considering her inability to focus because of the strange, swirling colors that surrounded her. She closed her eyes again and covered them with her hands in an attempt to rid her mind of the swirly-ness. Once again—out of desperation—Misaki opened her blue eyes and looked around as quickly as she could manage for as long as she could without throwing up her ramen from a few hours earlier. Right as her stomach began to fill with butterflies she slammed her eyes closed; opening them had solved nothing.

Without knowing what else to do Misaki yelled, "HELLO IS THERE ANYONE HERE WHO CAN HEAR ME!?"

She waited a few moments to see if she could receive a response, but there was none. By now Misaki was REALLY freaking out; she was racking her brain in an attempt to remember what had happened. She remembered sending Ryuunosuke and Yori texts, and then nothing; it was like there was a spot in the evening that had been completely erased from her mind.

Once again Misaki opened her mouth and yelled, "IF ANYBODY IS THERE IS THERE A WAY FOR YOU TO HELP ME!?"

For a few moments, Misaki sat in silence, but it ended when she heard padded footsteps that seemed to be approaching her. They were either that of an animal, or multiple people. At that precise time, Misaki didn't care if it was a mixture of the two, she was just relieved to know she wasn't completely alone.

"Hello…whoever's there, please tell me your name…that or make whatever sound you're capable of making," Misaki said. Once again there was silence for a few moments, but Misaki suddenly felt something soft brush against her legs. "Um…h—hello, heh-heh please make a noise now…th—this silence is killing me," she pleaded and reached her hand down to touch the soft thing.

Right when her hand touched it, Misaki was able to realize that the thing was actually a larger animal, she thought it might've been along the lines of a large cat, or maybe even a dog. Feeling relaxed just having some contact with a living thing, Misaki began to stroke the creature like it was a house pet; she was awarded by a happy-sounding 'purr' which confirmed it was a large cat. She was unsure if it was actually SAFE to be petting the thing, but it was purring, so that meant it didn't have any malicious intents…right?

After a couple of seconds, Misaki stopped petting the cat and its purring ceased. "H—hey…why in the WORLD did you stop; I DID NOT give you permission to quit petting me, Missy," a female's voice yelled angrily.

Misaki gasped, "Wha—are you—your not the giant cat are you?" She asked, disturbed by the fact it had spoken.

The voice gasped, "'Giant cat,' a—are you calling me FAT!?" She exclaimed, obviously taking Misaki's comment as an insult. "I'll have you know that I'm perfectly fit; I'm not a 'cat' either, I am a COUGAR! Can't you see," she asked angrily.

Misaki growled in anger, "Oh of COURSE I can see while MY EYES ARE CLOSED! I'm SOO sorry to have insulted you," she said sarcastically.

"Hmph, and to think that I was gonna explain EVERYTHING to you," she said in an annoyed tone, "with that attitude you ain't gonna learn poo!"

Misaki gasped, "HUH!? N—no, please, please, can't you let that lil 'misunderstanding' slide for now; I'm sorry, I didn't know you were so sensitive to—"

The cougar sighed, "Ok, ok, don't strain yourself; I forgive you…for now anyway, just don't let it happen again." She said and Misaki could hear her sit down. "Go on, just plop down right where you are and I'll make it so you can focus."

Misaki did as the feline said and plopped down, "How are you gonna make it so I can focus I don't—" she was cut off when she heard what sounded like a big button being pressed from somewhere near her.

"Alright, you can open you eyes now," the cougar said proudly, "it's not all swirly anymore…for right now it's just white."

Misaki opened her blue eyes slowly and blinked a few times before she was used to the bright atmosphere. Immediately when she was used to it, she searched for the cougar frantically. She was awarded when a large—and beautiful—cougar was seen laying nearby licking her paws prissily.

When she noticed Misaki staring, she stopped licking her large paws and turned to her with differently colored eyes—one bright green, the other dark blue. "Well hi there," she greeted, "I'm Luneicia. I told you that I'm a perfectly fit cougar!" She said and went back to grooming herself.

Misaki was so astounded by the feline's beauty that she did nothing but stare silently for a few minutes. Once Luneicia looked at Misaki with an obviously questioning look, the cougar looked around uncomfortably.

"Uh…could you cut the staring," she asked, "it's really kinda creeping me out and I—OH YEAH you were curious about what happened, weren't you?"

At that Misaki snapped out of her trance and nodded, "Yeah, I need to know where I am and how I got here, do have the answer to ANY of those questions?"

Luneicia stood up and stretched her legs like cats usually do and she yawned, "Well, you're in Wansubo and you got here because you were needed…I guess."

Misaki nodded but stopped suddenly and turned to the feline with a raised eyebrow, "What do you mean 'you guess'?" She asked in shock. "Not even YOU know why I'm here?"

Luneicia walked up to Misaki and sniffed her curiously, "I dunno…but it seems you have powerful powers locked up inside your mind; maybe I should test that theory." She said and backed quite far away.

Misaki looked at her and said, "What're you—" She was cut off when Luneicia let out a powerful sounding roar and pounced at Misaki with unimaginable speed.

Misaki was unable to do _anything_ about it quick enough so she was attacked and sent flying backwards. When she stopped sliding across the strangely smooth ground, Misaki quickly jumped to her feet and got into a battle position she had learned during Karate Class; she had no choice but to fight Luneicia, she knew it.

After a few seconds of nothing from Luneicia, Misaki dashed at the feline as quickly as her two feet could carry her. When she was within reach, Misaki quickly attacked Luneicia with a simple roundhouse kick which sent HER flying the same way the pounce had sent Misaki flying. Luneicia was able to stop herself from sliding _too_ far, but she was still quite far away.

"Ah…I see that you ARE willing to fight me Misaki-chan," the cougar said and shook her head. "Very well, but I will not go easy," she said and a bright light enveloped her.

For a moment, Misaki just watched, but when the temperature began to drop tremendously, she knew that something horrible would happen if she didn't move at the _exact_ time. She waited until the temperature became almost unbearable before she jumped out of the way of the strange attack. Right when she moved far enough away, she was able to see a large ice-crystal appear in the _exact _spot she had previously been standing in.

Luneicia growled, "How were you able to dodge my Bufu attack with such agility?" She asked and released another growl. "Very well," she said simply and began to glow with the same light again.

Misaki knew that she'd have to stop Luneicia before she released the same attack, so she quickly dashed toward the cougar. When she was within reach, Misaki attempted to punch the preoccupied feline; however, the attack was somehow avoided and Misaki could feel herself becoming very hot, almost like she was on…FIRE.

With a gasp of realization, Misaki dashed _away_ from Luneicia in hopes of avoiding the fire-attack that _had_ to be building up. Once Misaki felt the burning dull, she turned around to look at the cougar who had Misaki caught in a battle she didn't want to fight, but she had disappeared from the spot. Just as Misaki began to look around, an eerie light began to surround her on the ground below; the light was a purple-ish black and it came together to form an unfamiliar symbol or two.

As the strange light started to brighten, Misaki _knew_ she had to get away or something terrible would happen just like Luneicia's previous two attacks. Misaki managed to back-flip out of the circle and watched as the area the strange symbol started to glow with a bright color, then disappear.

"What in the world is that cougar doing," Misaki asked herself, "all of these tricks…they're impossible, how is she—" She was cut off in mid-sentence when Luneicia pounced on her and pinned her to the ground.

The cougar growled menacingly and easily held Misaki down with one, huge paw, the other one held back preparing to slash out at her in the worst spot; her neck. Misaki tried to get away from the huge feline's hold, but Luneicia was so powerful that Misaki was unable to move.

***

_A strange light blinked in Misaki's eyes; only she was able to see it. Everything seemed to stop at that instant and Misaki felt as though she was in an alternate world; a blue card glowing with the same color aura, slowly lowered down and stopped at eye-level. The card turned around twice, one side staying the same while the other changed from a white wolf and an arcana card of the Empress; Misaki knew this because she went through a 'phase' that included tarot cards._

"_Thou art I, and I am thou," the same female voice from Misaki's dream said, "I am the Empress Ikami. I have headed your call, thou hast awakened the ability of 'Persona.'"_

_Misaki wasn't sure where the soothing voice was coming from, but she knew what she had to do to find out. She stared at the still spinning arcana card and slowly reached out to it. Once it was within reach, Misaki held the card in her right hand and closed her fist with enough force for the card to break. Misaki's eyes began to glow with a blue glow and she felt a massive amount of power well up inside her; she released all of it in one, loud scream. _

***

Suddenly Misaki was out of the 'alternate world' and back in the clutches of Luneicia. It seemed as though no time had passed while Misaki talked with Ikami; knowing that she had been granted the same power as Luneicia had, Misaki mentally called for Ikami to protect her.

Right when the white wolf appeared, Luneicia nodded her head and released her hold on Misaki and allowed her to stand up. When she did, Misaki saw Luneicia staring up at the beautiful white wolf that had appeared.

"GREAT, it looks like it was the Empress Ikami that answered your call," Luneicia said happily and nodded to Ikami who disappeared. "Y'know, I haven't ever seen somebody who was blessed with Ikami…she's actually rather picky about who she answers."

Misaki fell to her knees as a sudden wave of fatigue washed over her, "Luneicia, I want you to tell me everything!" She commanded.

Luneicia walked towards her and laid down, "That power you were just granted is called 'Persona.' A Persona is the manifestation of a person's psyche—that is—someone's 'true-self.'" She explained calmly. "Being granted the ability of Persona, you were also granted the ability to fight 'Shadows'—humankind's one, true enemy. Although a Persona is something used to DEFEAT Shadows, the two bodies fit together into one category."

Misaki was _sort of _following what she was being told but she was still a little confused, "What do you mean 'the two bodies fit together into one category'?" She asked. "Do you mean they're basically the same thing?"

Luneicia nodded, "In a way yes, but there are distinct differences between the two." She said. "For instance: a 'Shadow' is something that all humans carry inside them—also their 'true self'—but when it is tamed and a person can face and accept it, it has the ability to transform into a Persona." She explained, furthering Misaki's confusion. "Another difference is the entities' intentions; a Persona is created to forever protect the person they're bound to, and the Shadows' intentions are to destroy the human they may or MAY NOT affect."

Misaki shook her head, "Um…ok…?" She said, still unsure of everything she had been told. "As for right now, this is WAAY too much for me to take in; I just wanna go home and go to sleep and dismiss all that has happened here."

Luneicia stood up, walked away a few steps and looked down, seeming a little disappointed, "You're gonna leave me alone again?" She questioned. "It's been so long since I was able to awaken a person with the ability of Persona…and I was having fun talking with you and I—" She stopped talking and began to make sobbing noises.

Misaki crawled over to the lonely cougar, "Aw, c'mon Luneicia; if you have the ability to make an entrance available to me I'll come a visit you when I can." She said an kindly pat Luneicia's head.

Luneicia stopped 'crying' and turned to look at Misaki, "Do ya mean it, or are you just saying that in order to get outta here and away from me?"

Misaki gasped and shook her head, "Of course not," she said honestly; she really _did _want to be able to see Luneicia again, "it's just that I have school tomorrow and I wanna make sure I'm alert enough to be able to pay attention."

Luneicia nodded and walked to the middle of the white area and sat down. When she was completely on the ground, the sound of a button being pressed filled the area; although there was no _visible _button. After a couple of seconds, a black and white swirly portal appeared behind Luneicia.

"Ok, this will get you home," she said, "when you wanna come back you'll know what to do." The cougar said and disappeared in a bright light, and when she did, the white area turned back to the way it was when Misaki fist woke up in the place.

"Damnit," Misaki cursed and closed her eyes as the swirling, bright color made her dizzy and nauseous. Remembering that the portal was only a straight walk in front of her, Misaki walked forward.

After a short 'stroll,' Misaki could sense that the portal was only a few steps in front of her, so she opened her blue eyes. When she did she saw that her feeling was right and she walked into the portal; she was so relieved to be getting home and going to bed.

***

**Ambie's Second Note: **The end of chapter three...it's a pretty important chapter just in case you didn't figure that out. Reviews are fun just so ya'll know!


	6. Chapter Five

**Ambie's Note: **Here's number five, enjoy or hate! Similarities still exist...

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Persona Series.

***

**Chapter Five****:**

Misaki opened her eyes slowly at the sound of knocks at her bedroom door, but closed them again; for some reason she felt _incredibly _tired and could barely move without feeling a sharp pain travel through her body. What had happened?

"Sissy, are you gonna get up now," Tsukiki's voice called from the other side of the door, "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna come in." She said and Misaki heard her door open slowly, almost hesitantly.

Misaki slowly turned over with the pain traveling through her body, "Good mornin' Tsukiki." She greeted quietly.

Tsukiki seemed to have a concerned look on her face and she stared down at Misaki's right arm, "Sissy…why do you have a big bruise on your arm; it looks really bad." The seven year old said and walked up to Misaki; she gently laid her right hand on the dark bruise.

Misaki looked down at it and observed that it looked like a hand that had caused it. Without wanting to scare herself, Misaki quickly changed the subject, "Uh, what time is it Tsukiki?" She asked as she put her arm back under the blanket.

Tsukiki still looked worried, but she spoke anyways, "Um…it's almost 8:45am. I've been trying to wake you up for a long time, but you didn't answer me…I—I was starting to get worried about you."

Misaki smiled and sleepily said, "It's ok, I'm just tired is all."

Tsukiki tilted her head to the side, "Why? You went to bed right after me, didn't you?"

Misaki's memory suddenly became clear; everything about Luneicia and that other world with the swirling colors reentered her mind. She remembered that she and Luneicia had fought, and she remembered being pinned by the giant cougar and awakening her Persona, Ikami.

Misaki looked at Tsukiki who still wore a worried look; Misaki smiled. "You're right, but all through the night I kept having really weird dreams and waking up; it happened, like, twenty times." She lied, immediately feeling guilty about not telling her sister the truth.

Tsukiki seemed to buy it though, "Ok then, I'll have Mom call your school and tell them you'll be absent for today."

Misaki laughed and shook her head, "Nah, I'll be fine to go to school," she said, "maybe I'll wake up when I start to get dressed and stuff."

Tsukiki looked doubtful, "Are ya sure, Sissy, cuz you look really worn out and you have bags under your eyes." The seven year old pointed out. "I really think you should stay home today…"

Misaki shook her head and sat up in bed, swinging her feet over the side, "It'll be ok." She said confidently; there was _no way _she was going to miss school today, she had to tell Ryuunosuke and Yori about her weird experience. "If it gets too bad I'll go to the nurse and tell her what's wrong."

Tsukiki nodded with a smile, "Okie dokie!" She said happily, seeming proud of Misaki's response. "Well…um…are we still gonna go get Ramen after school today; _I _brought money from MY piggybank, so I'll pay if ya wanna go!"

Misaki laughed, "Would you mind if I brought a few friends with me; they'll pay for themselves of course."

Tsukiki grinned happily, "YEAH, you should bring those guys you met yesterday; y'know the ones that gave you their numbers!"

Misaki was shocked by her sister's response but she shrugged, "If they wanna, then sure."

"YAY," Tsukiki beamed, "I get to meet Sissy's boyfriends!"

Misaki's face went hot at the seven-year-old's comment, "It—it's not like THAT; Ryuunosuke and Yori are just a couple of guys who talked to me on my first day is all."

Tsukiki raised a blonde eyebrow, "Are they your friends, Sissy?"

Misaki was curious as to why she was being questioned over such an embarrassing matter by a 1st grader, "Um…yeah, I guess you can call 'em that, but that's ALL they are!"

Tsukiki nodded, "I know that, they're your BOY-FRIENDS; I didn't mean, like your BOYFRIENDS that you date 'n stuff!" She said with a giggle. "Heey…are they cute!?"

Misaki once again blushed a light shade of red, "Hu—huh, do you…do you really want an answer to that Tsukiki!?" She questioned nervously. "Aren't you a little young to be interested in guys?"

Tsukiki giggled playfully, "Maybe…but I wanna know what Sissy thinks about 'em."

Misaki looked around and fidgeted nervously, this was a very awkward situation, but she felt obligated to tell her young sister to make up for the lie she had told earlier. "Uh, um, I—I guess they're both pretty cute, BUT I—I'm not, y'know like, 'interested' in either of them I just—"

Tsukiki laughed and pointed at Misaki, "Wow Sissy, you should see how red your face is; is it really THAT hard to say?" She asked and Misaki turned away from the 1st grader's expecting stare. "Who's cuter," she asked with another laugh.

Misaki's eyes went wide and she looked at Tsukiki pleadingly, "If I say…will you stop asking questions?" Tsukiki nodded happily at her sister's request. "Ok…I'd probably haveta say that, um, well…I—I kinda like, uh, Ryuunosuke-kun better than Yori-kun." Misaki said with a deep blush on her face.

"Heehee…why do ya like Ryuunosuke better," Tsukiki asked, breaking her previous promise.

Misaki wanted to drop the topic as quickly as possible, but she couldn't stop herself from talking about this stuff with Tsukiki. "Uh well…Ryuunosuke seems, I dunno, a little more sensitive? Is that the right word to use? Maybe it's just because he—I dunno, I don't wanna discuss anymore Tsukiki. Can we PLEASE drop this; it's gonna be really awkward talking to him today…"

Tsukiki smiled innocently at Misaki and pat her sister on the head, getting on her tiptoes to do so. "It's ok Sissy, if he comes with us today I won't say anything to him…I don't wantcha to be mad at me," she said in an honest tone.

Misaki felt _a little _bit of relief wash over her at her sister's promise, but she _knew _things would go weird with Ryuunosuke today. With a dreadful sigh, Misaki climbed out of bed and _quickly _got ready for school. After she finished tying her uniform's bow and fluffing it out, Misaki and Tsukiki left the Tsubaku Residence and they headed for school.

***

As Misaki walked to Tsudandi High—after parting ways with Tsukiki—she realized that she was walking behind Ryuunosuke and his 'buddies' again. Trying her best not to be noticed, Misaki held back a sneeze that was building up in her nose. That, however, did not go as easily as she had first anticipated it to be; she sneezed loudly after holding it back for only a few seconds.

The sound caused the girl and Ryuunosuke to turn around, only to see Misaki with a innocent smile and blush on her face; Yori wasn't paying attention due to the headphones he wore. "Heehee…g'morning Ryuunosuke-kun," Misaki said, not remembering the girl's name.

Ryuunosuke smiled and gave a slight nod, "Hey Misaki." He greeted, dropping the formalities.

The girl smiled kindly. Her orange hair was parted to cover her right eye and went down to the middle of her back, her one showing gray-blue eye sparkled happily and she was very pretty. "So you're the girl Ryuunosuke-senpai was just talking about," she said and got closer to Misaki, "just between you and I, I think he sort of likes you." She whispered and went right back to her original spot like nothing had happened. "I'm Tsubaki Asuno; it's nice to meet you Misaki-senpai."

Misaki smiled at the kind girl and quickly cleared her mind of what Tsubaki had said previously, "Likewise Tsubaki-chan."

Ryuunosuke rolled his dark blue eyes, "Why are you two always so formal n' stuff?" He asked in an annoyed tone.

Misaki and Tsubaki glared at him simultaneously, "Because it's polite to use formalities with new people." Tsubaki said; Misaki nodded in agreement.

Ryuunosuke smirked, "Well I never do, I—"

Misaki raised an eyebrow, "You did when you first met me." She said and laughed lightly. "Does 'Misaki-chan' sound familiar with you?"

For a moment Ryuunosuke looked surprised, but he shook his head simply right after, "Nope, not at all." He said and walked away casually.

Yori—who had been quite for the most part—spoke, "He's such a liar." He said and turned to Misaki with a glare. "Why didn't ya text me last night; Ryuunosuke said HE gotta text from you!"

For a second Misaki was clueless, but she gasped as the previous night returned to her mind; she shook it away before speaking. "Well, I WOULD'VE if you'd written LEGIBLY," she growled, "I sent the message to the wrong number and gave up." Misaki purposely left out the stuff about Luneicia and the other world.

Tsubaki smiled and shook her head, "Yeah, Senpai's writing is VERY hard to decipher," she said with a giggle, "I still have yet to get his number."

Yori sighed heavily, "Tsubame has it." He said simply.

"Yeah, but Tsubame's at home sick today," Tsubaki said and took out her pink cell phone from her coat pocket. "Since she's at home, and I have yet to ask her about your number, Yori-senpai, may I have it now?"

Misaki nodded in agreement and also took her cell from _her _coat pocket, "Same here; I don't wanna chance sending something for you to some other…person." She said as Luneicia ONCE AGAIN popped into her mind. She remembered that she had been sent there after sending Yori's text to the wrong number.

Yori rolled his light brown eyes in annoyance, "Kay, kay," he said defensively and sighed, taking his cell out of his pocket. "Alright, you two gimme your numbers, and I'll award you with mine; sound good?"

Tsubaki nodded, "Ok, my number is—"

Misaki shook her head, cutting Tsubaki off. "Uh-uh, I want Yori's number before mine; I wanna make sure he's being honest."

Yori's eyes widened, "Wha!?" He exclaimed. "Why in the world dontcha trust me Misaki?"

Misaki sighed, "I dunno…I just think you'd be the one to pull a stupid stunt like that, and I WILL NOT risk it; now tell me."

Yori growled in annoyance, "I can't believe—ok fine, fine." He said and gave Misaki his number and address and stuff of the like. "There, are ya happy with THAT?"

Misaki smiled and sent Yori a text that read; 'this better b ur f*!$ number if not ill kill you _!' After a couple of seconds, the text was sent and Yori's phone vibrated.

Yori gave Misaki a look and opened his phone and read the text, "Yeah that's REAL nice Misaki." He said and sighed after a quick reading. "You're so…well I dunno what you are, but you're so THAT!"

Misaki laughed happily, "Sorry, but I wanted to make sure you were honest n' stuff." She said and saw that Yori still looked upset; she sighed and pat Yori's brunette head. "Lighten up Yori, you got MY number outta it; it wasn't a complete loss."

Yori shook his head, "That wasn't nice at all Misaki."

"You sound like a baby," Misaki said simply and turned to Tsubaki, "here's all his info, go ahead and put it in your phone."

Tsubaki nodded and copied what Misaki had into her cell; she also received Misaki's information, "Thank you Senpai." She said and looked at the large clock in front of the school. "We'd better get inside, school's gonna start really soon."

Misaki followed Tsubaki's gaze and nodded, "You're right." She said and saw Yori also look at the clock; Misaki laughed. "You better RUN Yori; Ms. Shanagi won't be happy if you're late," she said. "Man…that woman is insane; I hope you don't get her next year Tsubaki."

Tsubaki laughed and nodded, "Yeah, I've heard many bad things about her." She said and the threesome quickly ran into the High School building.

When they entered, Tsubaki said goodbye to them and rushed down an adjacent hall and disappeared behind the door to Classroom 1-2. Right after, Misaki and Yori rushed to the 2nd level and entered in Classroom 2-3; being sure to make it before their crazy teacher did.

***

**The Same Day: After School**

When the last bell rang, Misaki, Ryuunosuke and Yori closed their books simultaneously with sighs that matched. The day had been dull and uneventful, and the rain that now fell outside didn't make it any better. The only thing it accomplished was making Misaki even more sleepy than she already was.

Misaki put her book into her bag and yawned as she closed it, "Man…I'm soooo tired." She said with a stretch.

Ryuunosuke smirked, "Tell me about it; I think I actually DID fall asleep while Shanagi was babbling about the Pythagorean Theorem." He said and sighed. "I already knew how to do that…but I still fail to see the point."

Yori sighed in annoyance, "I know, who in their right mind would need to find the area of a right triangle…or whatever that damned theorem teaches."

"I agree 100%, that damned thing was what screwed me up last year." Misaki said with a hateful growl. "I don't care what 'a squared' equals…it's just extra crap that fails to have a point."

Ryuunosuke raised an eyebrow, "I don't know if it's normal to hate a math equation so much…" He said which made Yori sigh.

"You can say that cuz you can pass a math class without even having to think," Yori complained, "it's no fair."

Ryuunosuke looked a little embarrassed for a second, but he cleared his throat right after. "Well…I'd be nowhere in Science without YOUR help Yori."

Yori smirked and nodded, "That's so true." He said simply, seeming proud of himself.

Misaki laughed, "Aww, I'm loving this wonderful buddy-ship I'm seeing here!" She joked happily.

The two guys looked at each other and immediately looked away, "Whatever Misaki…what do you know?" Ryuunosuke questioned followed by a nod from Yori.

At Ryuunosuke's response, Misaki smiled wider and pat both guys on the head. "It's ok…I wasn't TRYING to embarrass you," she said happily.

Yori rolled his eyes, "Shut up Misaki…Ryuunosuke and I just happen to sit by each other so we've got no choice but to ask each other for help when the time comes, y'got that?"

Misaki nodded, "Alright, alright…I was just saying that it's great you two get along so well." She said and sighed, changing the atmosphere in classroom dramatically.

Ryuunosuke and Yori seemed to sense this and looked at Misaki worriedly, "What was with the dramatic sigh?" Ryuunosuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

Yori smirked and looked around the now empty classroom, "Damn…that sigh completely made the air heavy in here…" He said and turned back to Misaki. "Something wrong," he asked and Ryuunosuke nodded.

Misaki looked down at her right arm worriedly, "I wanna tell you two what happened last night…but I don't think you'd believe me."

Yori and Ryuunosuke exchanged looks with confusion, "You dunno that for a fact." Ryuunosuke said, now seeming curious.

Yori nodded and gasped suddenly, "OH CRAP," he exclaimed, "THAT'S what I was gonna tell you guys." He said in shock. "Have you guys heard about what happened last night?"

Misaki raised an eyebrow in confusion, but she was slightly relieved about the topic change. "Are you talking about that 3rd Year, Marakushi Yamatama," she asked, remembering the new of the 18 year old's body being discovered.

"Marakushi-senpai," Ryuunosuke asked, "didn't he go missing, like a month ago?"

Yori nodded, "Yeah he did, but the police and special investigators found his body—his DEAD body—in his backyard slung over a tree branch." He said. "I dunno if either of you watch the news last night, but because of the strange circumstances, the media had difficulties reporting it."

Misaki thought back to the previous night and remembered that the report of the death _did _seem out of order, "I remember that the anchors seemed like they were unorganized and stuff." She said and looked at Yori in question. "How do YOU know all about this," she asked.

"My parents are both detectives that were assigned to the case," Yori said, "they tend to let things 'slip out.'"

Ryuunosuke raised an eyebrow, "You just eavesdrop on them…" He said seeming uneasy; Misaki could sense the uneasiness from Yori too.

"He was actually slung over a tree branch," Misaki asked. She saw a familiar pattern with the teen's death; it was _way _too similar to the way her mother was found.

Yori nodded, "Yeah, but according to my parents; unless they can discover a distinct cause to his death, they're just gonna dismiss it as a suicide."

Misaki's blue eyes went wide and she shook her head, "No…th—they can't do that!" She exclaimed angrily. "No matter how startling it is to the people, they shouldn't have a right to just LIE to everyone!"

Ryuunosuke and Yori seemed shocked by Misaki's sudden outburst, "Calm down Misaki." Yori said. "You didn't even know the—"

"WHAT DOES IT MATTER IF I KNEW HIM OR NOT," she yelled and looked away from Yori's and Ryuunosuke's worried gazes. "It's just…I—I don't think it's right for the media to keep things from the general public it just—" she cut herself off. "Never mind…just pretend I didn't randomly burst out like that…please," she pleaded and looked down sadly.

For a while, the empty classroom remained silent, that was until Misaki got overly annoyed by it. "Guys…it's really ok I just—"

Ryuunosuke looked at her sympathetically, "Sorry…we didn't mean for—" He was cut off by Yori.

"I didn't know that was such a touchy subject Misaki," He said while rubbing the back of his neck.

Misaki smiled at the two guys and shook her head, "It's ok…just drop it for now." She said with a sigh. "I hate making people feel sorry or worrying them…I didn't mean for either of you to feel like that; so drop it and we'll head home."

"Wait a sec Misaki," Ryuunosuke said with a raised eyebrow, "what were you gonna say before Yori started to blabber about last night's top news story?"

Misaki thought for a moment and gasped when she remembered, "Oh yeah, you mean the thing you guys won't believe?"

Yori nodded, "Yeah…sorry I interrupted you before, but when you said 'last night' I immediately thought about Yamatama."

Misaki sighed and took off her jacket and held out her right arm; showing the two guys the bruise she had received from the strange Shadow the night before. When Yori and Ryuunosuke both got a look at her bruise, both sets of eyes went wide with shock.

Ryuunosuke grabbed her arm and looked closer; he seemed a little more worried than Yori. "What happened!? That bruise in the shape of a hand, a HAND!? Did someone grab you did—" He stopped immediately when he realized that both Yori AND Misaki were giving him strange looks; he released Misaki's arm with an uncomfortable-sounding laugh.

Yori raised an eyebrow, "Geez Ryuunosuke I've never seen you get so worked up because of a—"

Ryuunosuke cut him off, "ZIP IT YORI." He commanded in a dangerous tone through clenched teeth.

"Um…anyways," Misaki started and put her jacket back on. "Ryuunosuke, do you remember when I texted you last night?"

Ryuunosuke nodded and Yori looked away with his arms crossed, "Yeah, but what's that gotta do with anything?" Ryuunosuke asked curiously.

"After I texted you, I wanted to text Yori, but I couldn't read his damned writing," Misaki explained with an annoyed glare aimed at Yori who whistled innocently. "So I spent, like, five minutes ATTEMPTING to find out what it said. Like any other person, I eventually got annoyed and gave up, but I still wanted Yori to have my number. I stupidly decided to GUESS at the crazy numbers, the first set I put in my phone said the message was sent, but after a few seconds a weird chiming sound came from my phone; I had never heard it before."

Ryuunosuke raised and eyebrow, "What's that gotta do with that bruise?"

Yori nodded, "Yeah…so far it just seems like you sent the text to the wrong number and your phone malfunctioned…"

Misaki rolled her eyes, "Well…if you'd lemme finish, MAYBE you'll find out." She said and sighed. "Anyways, after the weird noise went off I opened my phone outta curiosity. Once I opened it, my screen had an image on it; it looked like a human head and shoulders silhouetted against a weird, almost 1960s swirling background. For a few seconds I just looked at the image and tried to make it out, but suddenly a—ok…HERE'S the part you're not gonna believe." She said and sighed heavily, beginning to regret even _starting _the story. "This weird voice said something about me discovering the secrets of…SOMETHING. After it spoke a solid black arm appeared FROM the phone and grabbed my right arm and somehow dragged me to a weird portal-thing and I ended up falling through and landing in a weird world that looked like the background of my phone."

Yori and Ryuunosuke looked at each other and blinked, then they turned to Misaki and blinked; they obviously didn't believe her. Yori spoke, "How in the world do you expect either of us to believe THAT? You saying that a HAND reached outta your phone, is like me saying I can go inside of a TV; it just doesn't work like that!"

Ryuunosuke rubbed the back of his neck with a confused look on his face, "Seriously…were you high or something Misaki?"

Misaki looked at the two guys and growled in annoyance, "I figured you wouldn't believe me…I just thought it would be fair to share a crazy-ass experience with the two of you; are you interested in hearing what happened while I was there?" She asked with a shrug. "I know you don't believe me, but I promise it'll be pretty entertaining."

Yori smirked and shrugged and Ryuunosuke copied his movements, "Sure." Ryuunosuke said simply.

Yori nodded, "Alrighty…I enjoy listening to good stories from time to time."

Misaki smiled a felt a wave of relief wash over her; she wasn't sure why though, to Ryuunosuke and Yori everything she was saying was made up. But she couldn't help but to feel like a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders as she told them everything about the place Luneicia had called 'Wansubo,' about Persona and Shadows and—most of all—Luneicia herself. Throughout the time Misaki was telling the story, she could easily tell that the two guys' interests had been peeked.

"So the cougar told you about your 'ability to summon,'" Yori asked with a smirk. "You're a druggy aren't you Misaki?"

Ryuunosuke smacked Yori upside the head with a less-than-pleased look on his face, "If she were a druggy, I'm sure we would've heard her talk about it by now." He said with a sigh. "From what I'm getting outta this, it seems like Misaki had too many sweets before she went to bed last night and had a messed up dream; no drugs involved."

Misaki nodded in approval of Ryuunosuke's explanation, "I like Ryuunosuke's idea better, cuz I'm sure as hell not a druggy; I wouldn't go NEAR the stuff even if ya paid me." She said and shook her head, thus changing the subject. "Anyways, you two have a right to not believe me, but it IS true; what, did you guys think I spent all night coming up with a LIE to tell you?"

Yori shrugged simply, "Wouldn't surprise me…you seem like the type; just my opinion."

Misaki rolled her eyes, "What about you Ryuunosuke, do YOU think I made EVERYTHING up; descriptions and all?"

Ryuunosuke's blue eyes went wide, "Wha—what does it matter what I think, I don't—" he cut himself off, "it's not that I think you actually spent TIME making up stuff…but I don't believe that it's true; I'm pretty damned sure it was just a dream."

Misaki shrugged, "Ok fine, fine, that's better than thinking I'm a liar or a druggy." She said and looked at the clock with a nod. "C'mon you two, Tsukiki wants to meet you, she kept…'bothering' me with it this morning; you have money right?"

Yori and Ryuunosuke looked confused as they checked their wallets, "I've got…oh…500 yen or so." Yori said and put his wallet away in his back pocket.

"Same here," Ryuunosuke said and copied Yori's previous movements. "Who's Tsukiki and why does meeting her involve money?"

Misaki laughed lightly, "Tsukiki is my 7 year old sister, and she wants to eat Ramen with us, she even brought her own money."

"How much money could a 7 year old possibly have," Ryuunosuke asked curiously.

Misaki smirked and slung her bag over her right arm, "I dunno, but she has enough to get two meals at Ashita Koso Ramen…the place with the weird name…"

Yori's light brown eyes filled with excitement, "Ashita Koso Ramen is frickin' orgasmic!" He exclaimed…loudly.

For a second, Misaki and Ryuunosuke stared at Yori in question and disgust. Soon after, though, Misaki cleared her throat and tucked some hair behind her ear awkwardly. "Um, yeah…maybe we should get going now, I'm sure Tsukiki is waiting for us."

Ryuunosuke nodded slowly, but didn't look away from his now blushing friend, "Yeah…ok…" He said and he and Misaki began to walk out of Classroom 2-3. After realizing he would be left behind if he didn't get going, Yori followed the other two.

***

**Ambie's Second Note: **Yeah...that's the end of this chapter, did you enjoy? Reviews are always happy things!


	7. Chapter Six

**Ambie's Note: **Alrighty...my laziness is still in existence, but here's the next chapter. Like I've said in every other chapter; similarities are there. Have fun!

**Disclaimer: **Persona is not mine, it is Atlus's amazing creation that happens to inspire me!

***

**Chapter Six****:**

While the three 2nd Years were about to walk out of Tsudandi High, they saw Tsubaki exit her 1st Year classroom. When Tsubaki saw the other three she smiled and waved, "Hello Senpai…where are you going?" She asked.

Misaki smiled at the younger girl happily, "We're gonna head to Ashita Koso Ramen, do you wanna come with us?" She offered.

Ryuunosuke and Yori both nodded eagerly, "Yeah, Ryuunosuke and Misaki could be a date…and you and I could—" Yori offered, but was cut off.

Tsubaki's face turned red and she shook her head, "N-no, I mean—is-isn't it a little sudden of you to ask Sen-senpai?"

Yori winked at the orange-haired girl with a rather charming smirk, "Heh…why ya so nervous Tsubaki?" He joked which caused Tsubaki's face to redden further.

Misaki rolled her eyes in annoyance, "She's not nervous, she's probably just creeped out to a pretty massive extreme." She said and saw a thankful expression play across Tsubaki's face.

She nodded, "Misaki-senpai is right, you really creep me out Yori-kun." Tsubaki said and sighed. "I wouldn't mind going with you three, but I have to study for a make-up exam I missed a few days ago; I'm taking it tomorrow morning."

"If you're takin' it tomorrow why study now," Yori questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You'd choose studying over going on a date with MOI!? Tsubaki-chan…I am sincerely hurt by your actions."

Completely ignoring Yori's fake cries, Misaki spoke, "I hope you do ok."

Tsubaki nodded, "Me too," she said with a smile. "Maybe next time, ok Senpai?"

Misaki and Ryuunosuke nodded, "Tell Tsubame that she better get her ass better." Ryuunosuke said and pat Tsubaki on top the head.

The 1st Year blushed lightly, but she nodded right after, "Will do." She said and waved to her Senpai and headed for the library.

Misaki turned to Yori who was _still _'crying' and carrying on, even after Tsubaki left. "Yori…you're a dumbass," she said simply and shook her head.

Ryuunosuke smirked, "Yori's been trying to get a date with Tsubaki since the beginning of this year, but she obviously doesn't have ANY sorta interest in him, right Yori?"

Yori stopped 'crying' and nodded, "It's true…I think she hates me…but I think her sister hates me more." He said and scratched the back of his head with an awkward laugh.

Ryuunosuke smirked with a nod, "Yeah…Tsubame hates everyone. It's weird how even twins can be completely different people." He said with a shrug. "So are you two ready to go, cuz I'm pretty damned hungry right about now."

Yori nodded, "Yeah, tell me about it; you ready Misaki?"

"I've been ready ever since I called you a dumbass," Misaki replied and headed out the door with her two guy friends.

The group of three walked out of the High School and headed to the bench where Misaki had met with her sister the previous day. They got there after a few minutes, and sure enough, Tsukiki was sitting there playfully kicking at some grass beneath her.

When she saw Misaki she smiled happily and ran up to her, "Hi Sissy, how were ya today?" The seven year old asked innocently and hugged her older sister.

Misaki hugged her back, "I managed to stay awake all day, are ya proud?" She asked with a light laugh.

Tsukiki giggled, "Uh-huh!" She exclaimed and looked up at the two unfamiliar guys; she waved happily. "Hi, I'm Tsukiki, which one of you is Ryuunosuke and which of you is Yori?"

Yori raised his hand and waved, "I'm Yori, and the other guy's Ryuunosuke."

Tsukiki looked at Misaki with a grin that seemed evil and turned to Ryuunosuke right after, "YOU'RE Ryuunosuke?"

Ryuunosuke nodded with a friendly smile, "Yeah, I met your sister first; she's pretty cool."

Tsukiki giggled and nodded, "I know…and you're cool too Ryuunosuke-san; I want you to be nice to Sissy, cuz if you aren't you won't be cool anymore!"

"Um…ok…I didn't ever plan on being mean to her, so you don't gotta worry," he said.

Yori looked at Ryuunosuke with a smirk, "Of course ya didn't plan on being un-nice to her." He said with a wink which caused Ryuunosuke to blush, along with Misaki.

Tsukiki and Yori laughed at the other two's red faces, "You're all red Sissy…it's so funny!"

Yori shook his head between laughter, "Wow Ryuunosuke…I don't usually see YOU get all red…this is history in the making, and I'm a witness!"

Misaki and Ryuunosuke exchanged embarrassed looks and _both _smacked Yori upside the head which made himshut up, "You better watch yourself Yori…be careful what you say." Misaki warned through clenched teeth.

Yori seemed shocked, "What the heck…Tsukiki-chan was laughing too!" He defended while rubbing the spot he had been hit.

Ryuunosuke turned to the 7 year old who smiled innocently up at him, "It's ok if she laughs cuz it's cute, but in YOUR case it just makes me wanna smack you!"

Tsukiki laughed and threw Yori and evil grin, "It's ok if I do it Yori-san, but not you." She said with a giggle. "That's ok though, cuz I think you're cute, so I'll do it twice as hard," the little girl said and her face turned red and she turned around with a laugh.

Yori seemed shocked for a second but he shrugged right after, "Heh…did you guys hear that, Tsukiki-chan thinks I'm cute! I KNEW I had some potential within me!" He exclaimed, seeming triumphant.

Misaki laughed lightly and turned to Tsukiki, "You're all red Tsukiki, are ya ok there?" She joked and pat her sister atop her blonde head.

Tsukiki put her hands there and slouched slightly, "Be quiet Sissy…you're making me get redder." She whispered in embarrassment.

Yori smirked at approached Tsukiki, "Y'know what Tsukiki-chan…I think you're cute as well." He said with a light laugh.

Ryuunosuke shook his head and leaned towards Misaki, "Poor guy can't get a woman, so he hits on your 7 year old sister," he whispered, "doesn't that kinda freak you out?"

Misaki laughed, "Nah…Tsukiki won't fall for his pedophile-ish tricks; she's a pretty smart girl and—" She was cut off by the sound of someone being slapped.

There was a gasp and Yori turned to Ryuunosuke and Misaki with a shocked expression, "Misaki, your sister just SLAPPED me!" He exclaimed in disbelief. "Why would she even—"

Another gasp was heard, "Oh no…sorry Yori-san," Tsukiki apologized seeming to be in shock as well, "my-my hand it…it slipped and your face was there and—I didn't mean it Yori-san!"

Misaki and Ryuunosuke busted out laughing, "Damn Yori, your cheek is SOO red…heh-heh…I even think there's a HANDPRINT!" Ryuunosuke exclaimed between laughing fits.

"Wow Tsukiki…I didn't know you were so strong," Misaki laughed and shook her head. "C'mere Yori…I'll make—heehee—sure you're…heh…I'll make sure you're ok," she said and motioned for Yori to come closer; he did reluctantly.

When Misaki looked at his cheek, she realized that Ryuunosuke had been right; he _did _have a red mark in the shape of a handprint across his left cheek. With another laugh Misaki pat his head gently, "It looks fine Yori…just a red mark." She said with a sigh.

Tsukiki still looked shocked while Ryuunosuke continued to laugh at his friend's pain. "So what have we learned Yori," Ryuunosuke asked and released a heavy sigh, "anything?"

Yori looked around in embarrassment and removed his hand from his cheek. "Never approach Tsukiki-chan without a warning," he said with a sigh, "or this will happen."

Misaki applauded sarcastically, "I am so proud of you, but I'm sure there's a little more to that lesson."

Ryuunosuke leaned to Misaki with a snicker, "Yeah, don't hit on young girls." He said which caused Misaki to laugh lightly.

Tsukiki looked worried, "Are you gonna be ok Yori-san; I promise it was an accident."

Yori smirked and nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine; ya don't haveta worry so much Tsukiki-chan," he said, "you'll be set for when you're older as long as you keep that up."

"You're alright then," Tsukiki questioned and sighed in relief when Yori nodded; she looked down at her feet and began to blush again. "Am I still cute to you, Yori-san, even though I hurt you," she asked nervously.

"Heh…yes you are Tsukiki-chan," Yori said and took a small step away from the now beaming 7 year old; he didn't want to chance being slapped again.

Misaki smiled and shook her head, "Anyways, are you all ready to get something to eat, I'm pretty hungry." She said and received nods from everyone around her.

With a nod of her own, Misaki, Tsukiki, Ryuunosuke and Yori all started to walk towards Ashita Koso Ramen. They walked for a few minutes, but right as they were getting ready to take the last turn, the group of four was stopped by a local police officer.

"I'm sorry kids, but I'm going to have to ask you all to return home for the evening," he said.

Yori and Ryuunosuke exchanged shocked looks, "Uh…is there a detour to get to Hitori Street?" Ryuunosuke asked the officer.

The officer shook his head, "That's the street that has been blocked off, the Hagakue Police have been turning people back, and not allowing them to leave." He explained and shook his head with a sigh. "The Department is taking the Yamatama Case very seriously; it's not often that something like this happens in a small town."

Yori scratched the back of his head in a nervous gesture, "Sir…Ryuunosuke and I both live on Hitori Street, how are we gonna get home?"

The officer seemed slightly shocked, "You two have friends you can stay with for the night, don't you?"

"Yeah, but they also live on Hitori," Ryuunosuke said, "pretty much half the town lives on that street."

"I'm sorry boys, but you are going to have to find somewhere to stay," the officer said and turned his attention to Tsukiki and Misaki. "What about you two, do you also live on Hitori Street?"

Misaki shook her head, "No sir, my sister and I live on Gagaku Drive."

The officer nodded; he seemed like he was fairly new on the force. "Can't the other two stay at your house, it's just for one night," he said seriously. "I'm sure it would be fine just as long as they slept in a separate room."

Misaki looked at Ryuunosuke and Yori, reading their facial expressions; they were relatively different. Yori had a wide grin across his face and nodded anxiously as Misaki studied him. Ryuunosuke, on the other hand, had started to go red and looked pretty nervous.

Yori kept the grin on his face, "Its either that or Ryuunosuke and I end up on the streets." He whispered quietly. "Would you really feel good about that; there may be a murderer on the loose; what if we—"

Misaki cut him off with a sigh and turned to the police officer, "I suppose it'll be alright for a night." She said, bowing politely. She turned to Ryuunosuke and Yori, "C'mon, we'll head to mine and Tsukiki's place." She said and the group of four began to walk away from the officer.

After a relatively short walk, they arrived on Gagaku Drive and Tsukiki's and Misaki's house could be seen from where the group of four stood. Misaki turned to the guys and nervously smiled.

"Um…yeah, so our house is the white one with the longer driveway." She said with a blush across her face and pulled out her cellphone. "I suppose I should probably call Hikari and let her know what's going on…" She added and dialed the house phone.

Tsukiki looked up at the two tall guys with a happy smile, "This'll be fun; I never have people spend the night!"

Yori grinned and nodded, "This should be fun…" He said and rubbed his hands together with a strange laugh.

Ryuunosuke smacked him upside the head, "Yori you sound like a freak." He said and dropped his arm. "We're only here because our road has been closed off," he said, "it was nice of Misaki to let us stay with her…if you do ONE thing to upset ANYBODY in that house, I will personally throw you outta the 2nd Story window; you got that!"

Yori lifted his hands in defense, "Hey calm down man, why would you think I'd do anything like that?"

Ryuunosuke growled and glared at Yori, "I'm not kidding Yori." He warned through clenched teeth.

Yori actually seemed phased by Ryuunosuke's threat and took a step back, "Ok, I promise."

Tsukiki laughed, "You tell him Ryuunosuke-san!" She said with and turned to Yori. "You heard him Yori, you better be good!"

"Alright, I'll stay true to my word and be on my best behavior," Yori said and bowed.

After a couple of minutes of conversation between the three, Misaki closed her phone and put it back in her jacket with a sigh. "Alright, Hikari said that it'd be ok—considering the situation—as long as you two sleep in the living room and don't go upstairs, you've also gotta be quiet while she and Tsukiki are in bed." She said and sighed again. "I've also gotta stay up until both of you fall asleep, so don't be dicks and attempt to stay up all night; you understand?"

Tsukiki gasped, "Sissy…you said a bad word."

Misaki's eyes went wide, "I'm sorry Tsukiki, it slipped out, just don't ever repeat it."

Tsukiki laughed with a nod, "Don't worry, I promise."

Misaki smiled down at her sister and nodded back, "Good." She said and turned back to the guys. "Well, let's get to the house; I can cook us something to eat and do your laundry, Hikari said you two could borrow some of my dad's pajamas…"

Everybody nodded and ran to the house because Tsukiki insisted that they raced; the seven year old was much more excited than Misaki was about the 'slumber party.' When they reached the door realization hit her, Misaki realized that it was going to be a long night tonight.

***

Once they group of friends entered the Tsubaku Residence, Tsukiki rushed upstairs to be with Hikari for awhile, leaving Misaki and the guys alone in the living room. Once again—for the fifth time in the past few minutes—Misaki sighed nervously, how in the world could Tsukiki be ok with this?

"Um…you guys can just put your bags on the floor," Misaki said, "as long as they aren't right in the middle of the walking area. If anybody trips I beat you up."

Yori smirked, "Nice place ya got here Misaki, I'm liking the color scheme." He said and looked around the living room with a few nods.

Ryuunosuke turned to Misaki; he seemed just as nervous as her, "Isn't this a lil weird for you?" He asked.

Misaki laughed lightly, "'Weird' is an understatement, believe me." She replied and sighed again. "Just make sure you keep Yori under control, stay true to your warning."

Ryuunosuke rubbed the back of his neck, "I would, but we're not allowed upstairs remember?"

Misaki laughed, "Then just throw him out the 1st Story window and—"

"HEY, I resent that," Yori said. "You don't gotta worry Misaki, I'm not gonna do anything since you have a little girl in the house," he said with a smirk.

"'Since you have a little girl in the house,' are you saying—" Misaki started and heard Yori laugh lightly. She rolled her eyes and grabbed the shoe nearest to her and threw it at him, but he easily caught it. "You're a freak," she said simply and caught the shoe that had been tossed back to her.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Yori said and took off his jacket and shirt, "Aren't you supposed to do our laundry or something?" He asked with a smirk.

Misaki flushed slightly; Yori was actually pretty well built, nice abs and biceps…she found that she had difficulties looking away, but she managed it somehow. "Yeah…" she sighed, "I'll grab a few of Dad's pajamas. Ryuunosuke, while I'm gone, go ahead and take off your shirt and jacket and I'll start doing the laundry." She said while she headed upstairs.

Yori smirked again, "What about our pants we can't just—"

Ryuunosuke hit Yori upside the head in aggravation, "Shut up Yori, we'll obviously change our pants when she's NOT AROUND." He said when Misaki disappeared into a different room. "Damnit Yori, what the hell's wrong with you, how long have you been a freak?"

Yori laughed, "I'm just giving you two a hard time, I enjoy the blushes n' stuff I get when I mention things like that." He explained and shook his head. "I know how you feel about relationships and shit, but it's obvious that you've been crushing on Misaki since you saw the first day she was here." He said with a laugh. "And this afternoon when she showed us her arm, your reaction made it clear to me; you like her, but you're too nervous to say anything. You're afraid it'll be a repeat of last time, but you won't know UNLESS you say something."

Ryuunosuke sighed, "I've only known her for a few days, I can't say for sure if I like her or not, she's just a pretty cool girl." He said with a blush across his face.

"Aha, there it is, that 'blush of truth'; that's what makes it so damned clear to me Ryuunosuke." Yori said and shook his head with a sigh. "I promise not to say anything to her, but I suggest you don't act like a nervous wreck when she's around; she might catch on…as well as others."

Ryuunosuke looked grateful as he took off his jacket, "Thanks man." He said and took off his white, school shirt; he ran his fingers through his hair when it was completely off and shook his head a bit.

After a few more minutes of conversation between the two guys, Misaki came down the stairs with two sets of pajamas; she threw them at the guys. "There ya go; I hope you like white…that's all Dad had in his drawers."

Ryuunosuke and Yori noticed that Misaki had also changed while she was up there. She now wore a light blue tank-top with a picture of a sleeping panda on the front and a pair of fairly short shorts that matched the shirt. Her short, choppy, black hair had been pulled into two low ponytails.

Yori smirked, "So THAT'S what took so long; couldn't you have waited until we fell asleep?"

Misaki raised an eyebrow, "Why…I can't ATTEMPT to be comfortable with two guys staying at my house?" She asked and shook her head. "I decided that changing into my pajamas is a good first step, so cut the staring…it's creeping me out."

Ryuunosuke looked away but Yori just smirked again, while _still_ staring. "Sorry Misaki, but you look hott in your jammies, I won't lie to ya."

Misaki actually managed to _not _blush at Yori's 'complement.' "Just go into that room behind you and change so I can start our laundry and make something for us to eat."

Ryuunosuke smirked, "That sounds pretty weird coming from you Misaki; it reminds me of my mom…that or a busy housewife." He said, finally getting used to the idea of being in a girl's house.

"Heh…you wish," she said and walked into the kitchen as the guys headed to the bedroom behind them, which they soon learned was empty. The two guys changed and emerged from the room and walked into the kitchen.

"Ok 'Honey,' you can start the laundry now," Ryuunosuke joked.

Yori sat down at the dinner table, "Where's my supper 'Mom.'"

Misaki turned around with a less-than-amused expression on her face, "Ha, aren't you two just hilarious." She said bitterly, but still managed to smile when grabbing the guys' clothes. "Once you finish eating, Yori, I'll start up a bubble bath for you." She said when she walked by, she then turned to Ryuunosuke. "When Yori goes to bed…you and I can have some 'Mommy, Daddy Time' in the bedroom."

Ryuunosuke laughed at the fact Misaki was ok with playing along, "Alright…if you say so, Baby." He said with a flirtatious wink.

Yori gasped, "HEY, I wanna have 'Mommy, Daddy AND Yori time,' don't exclude me!"

Misaki laughed, "Sorry Yori, but we ain't incest here."

Ryuunosuke nodded in agreement, also laughing, "Yeah, you called her 'Mom,' what kinda mom wants to have 'Mommy, Daddy Time' with their son?"

Yori shrugged with a pervy chuckle, "A mom like Misaki." He said with a wink.

Misaki shook her head with a laugh, "I know how much you'd like that, but I'm not like that kinda 'Mom.'" She said and smiled. "I know this must be such a disappointment for you, Yori, but still…"

Yori crossed his arms a looked away, "Bitch." He said and looked back at Misaki with a smile and laugh.

Ryuunosuke shook his head, "We're gonna have to wash your mouth out with soap, Young Man."

"Don't make us ground you," Misaki said.

"It's ok, I don't kiss my mother with this mouth," he said and turned to Misaki, "but I'd like to." He added and winked at Misaki, blowing her a kiss, she just laughed and exited the room.

Ryuunosuke laughed, "You're still a freak Yori." He said and shook his head, taking a seat next to his best friend.

Yori shrugged, "Hey, you started it…I just felt left out and decided to jump in, 'Dad.'" He said and laughed.

Soon after, the two guys heard the washing machine start up and Misaki returned to the kitchen and took a seat next to Ryuunosuke with a sigh. "Alright…so what do you want to eat; I know it's still early, but I'm starving."

Ryuunosuke shrugged, "I dunno, what kinda things do you have?"

Misaki laughed, "I have no clue."

Yori rolled his eyes, "Well that REALLY helps." He said and stood up. "Looks like I get to raid your cabinets, c'mon Ryuunosuke."

Ryuunosuke stood up and looked at Misaki, "Well," he asked expectantly.

Misaki looked up at him with a smile, "You guys go ahead, I'll make whatever you pick out." She said and laid her head on the dinner table. "Like I said earlier, I had a rough night last night."

Yori shook his head, "You still on that whole 'Cougar in Another World' thing?"

Misaki didn't lift her head up she just shrugged, "It's not a 'thing,' it actually happened and I plan on showing you tonight." She said, making the decision right on the spot.

"That sounds pretty kinky Misaki, don't get my hopes up." Yori said with a 'suggestive' laugh and headed towards the kitchen with Ryuunosuke.

***

**Ambie's Second Note: **Heehee, wasn't that fun? I enjoyed writing this chapter...perversion is fun! Alrighty Review and state your thoughts please, por favor, s'il vous plait!


	8. Chapter Seven

**Ambie's Note: **Here's chapter seven, enjoy entering my strange 'imagination.' Similarities are still there!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Persona Series and I never will no matter how much I hope.

***

**Chapter Seven****:**

By the time Misaki had finished making dinner _and _dessert, the time had been 7:30pm. Nobody ate until 7:45 and nobody finished until 8:05, by then Tsukiki had gotten tired and was tucked in, giving Misaki the chance to get her cellphone in her room and take it down to the living room. When she got back in there, she saw the guys lounging on the couch and watching one of Misaki's DVDs of 'The Kokoro Show.'

Misaki put her phone on the kitchen table and joined Ryuunosuke and Yori on the couch. They were watching episode 65, and Misaki imagined she knew why.

She smirked, "'65' huh, I suppose I should've guessed." She said and shook her head.

Yori gasped dramatically, "What are you getting at Misaki?" He questioned.

Misaki rolled her blue eyes, "It's obvious that you chose this one, cuz you get to see Kokoro-chan in a bikini."

Ryuunosuke smirked, "What'd you expect, we're guys." He said with a laugh.

Misaki shook her head again and paid attention to the episode. The group of three watched it until 9:30-ish and the DVD ended; the DVD only went to the end of season 6, and number 65 was the last episode of the season.

When the DVD went back to the main menu, Yori gasped, "HEY…wha-why would they do this to me; episode 66 ALSO shows Kokoro prancing around in her bikini! People are so cruel and—MISAKI, please, please, PLEASE tell me that you have the season 7 box-set!"

Misaki laughed and shook her head, "Sorry, but season 7 bored me." She said with a shrug.

Ryuunosuke nodded in agreement, "Yeah, only the first episode in that season had my interest; not enough Kokoro, too much Daiki and Toro. It's so obvious that they would hook up, but the producers spent too much time around it…couldn't they have used ONE episode instead of a whole damned season?"

Yori raised an eyebrow, "You don't like the couple, or do you just hate the characters?"

"Both," Misaki and Ryuunosuke said at the same time which caused them to look at each other in confusion.

Yori looked confused for a second but it went away just as quickly as it came and everybody got over it. "Why do you hate 'em so much, I think Toro is sexy enough."

Ryuunosuke turned to Yori in question, "No…if you compare Toro to Kokoro, the difference is plainly clear…and Daiki is just a douche."

Misaki rolled her eyes at the two guys' pointless arguing, "Oh shut up guys, at least in season 8 we begin to follow Kokoro again, and the other twos' relationship becomes less important." She said and saw Ryuunosuke and Yori act as though they had something more to say. She stopped them before they spoke again, "It's ok, it's just a TV Show, a really good one, but a TV Show no less and—" _She _was cut off when she heard her phone make a strange chiming noise that seemed familiar.

Ryuunosuke's and Yori's attentions turned to the chiming cellphone on the kitchen table. "Why in the world would somebody text you at this time of night, on a school night I might add," Ryuunosuke questioned.

Misaki's eyes went wide in realization of the chime, "That's the noise I heard last night." She said and quickly walked to her phone and picked it up nervously as the guys just stared. "Will I be pulled in again," she asked herself quietly so the guys wouldn't hear.

While Misaki held the phone in one trembling hand, the chime didn't cease, in fact it became louder each time it sounded. Misaki glanced at Ryuunosuke and Yori who watched curiously and looked back down at her phone and slowly flipped it open.

When she had it completely opened, she looked at the screen and once again saw the crazy background, but this time there was no silhouette or even an image, instead there was an actual text message from an unknown sender. Misaki opened the message reluctantly, but couldn't stop herself from doing so.

"Misaki…what's wrong, who's it from," Ryuunosuke asked from the couch in a worried tone.

Yori looked concerned as well, "Why do you look so freaked out, Misaki?"

Misaki ignored the worried questions from her friends and read the text message: 'Dost thou wish to partake in a game? All thou must do is to save them, save them and thou shalt be rewarded, but if thou dost not, the consequences will be dire.'

Once Misaki finished reading the message against the crazy background, all traces of it disappeared and Misaki slowly closed her phone. "'Save them,' what does that mean?" She asked out loud and looked at the guys who seemed confused.

Ryuunosuke approached a paling Misaki slowly, "What happened?" He asked worriedly, but didn't receive a response.

Yori repeated Ryuunosuke's movements, "Dude, she looks really scared about something." He said. "Are you alright Misaki?"

Misaki snapped out of her fearful state, "Sorry I worried you…but that message was—I'm not sure, but something about it…" She trailed off.

Ryuunosuke and Yori gently sat her down in one of the Dining Room chairs and they both got to eye level with her. "What did it say, can you remember," Ryuunosuke asked.

"There's no way I could forget," she said nervously. "It said: 'Dost thou wish to partake in a game? All thou must do is to save them, save them and thou shalt be rewarded, but if thou dost not, the consequences will be dire.'" Misaki repeated word-from-word.

Yori seemed shocked, "Who in their right mind would send somebody a message like THAT?"

Ryuunosuke nodded, "Yeah, what was the number of the sender?"

Misaki shook her head, "It didn't say…there wasn't even a PLACE for it to say. The message was made with white letters against the weird swirly background from," she trailed off when she realized what she had to do, "WANSUBO…I need to see Luneicia again."

"Are you talking about that crazy dream again," Yori questioned. "It was a dream Misaki, it's not gonna help you with anything."

Misaki shook her head, "Believe me guys, everything I said to you earlier today was 100% true." She said and opened her phone again. "I don't want you guys thinking that I'm crazy and I wanna show you, but I don't think it'd be safe."

Ryuunosuke thought for a second, "If there's a way for you to get me there, I want you to do it." He said and received a look from Yori.

"What are you talking about? Didn't we agree that it was a dream, how are you gonna get into 'Dreamland'?" Yori asked.

Misaki sighed and looked through the previous numbers she had texted and found the only one that didn't have a name of a friend with it and realized how she got to Wansubo the first time. "Yesterday I texted to this number," she said and show the guys, "and I ended up in Wansubo after it had been sent."

Yori was obviously still having a hard time believing what Misaki had said, "How can you get to another WORLD through a text message?"

Misaki shook her head, "I dunno, but all three of us are going to in a minute." She said and sent a pointless text to the strange number. "It's probably best if you hold onto me…I'm not sure if we'll end up in the same place if you don't." She said and felt the guys grab onto her arms.

A few seconds later Misaki's phone made the same weird noise as earlier. When she opened her phone, she saw the name 'Tsubame Asuno' for a split second before the message faded and the weird portal appeared. This time there were no hands that grabbed anybody, but instead the swirling black and white sucked up the three friends, giving them a one-way trip to Wansubo.

***

Misaki opened her eyes slowly and took in her surroundings, the familiar swirling colors once again surrounding her. Before closing her eyes again, she looked around for Yori and Ryuunosuke. After a small search, she found Yori laying still not too far away, but she couldn't find Ryuunosuke which worried her.

Unable to stand the swirling colors any longer, Misaki closed her eyes again and yelled, "YORI ARE YOU AWAKE!?"

For a second she didn't receive any sort of response, but she eventually heard shuffling noises that confirmed Yori was moving around. "Hmm…wha-what's goin—HOLY SHIT WHERE AM I!?"

Misaki felt a wave of relief wash over her at the sound of Yori's voice, "Yori, you should probably close your eyes; these weird ass colors never stop swirling." She said.

"Ok…I'll do that if you can answer a few questions first," he said. "To start, where are we? Second, how did we get here? Third, how do we leave? And fourth, why are you on top of Ryuunosuke?" He questioned. "Oh damn…I feel like I'm gonna hurl."

Misaki sighed in annoyance, "Then close your eyes ya dumbass." She said and began to stand up, ignoring the many questions Yori had asked.

As she pulled herself up, Misaki realized that she was on something soft. Curious about what it was she opened her eyes and discovered that she was, in fact, laying on top of an unconscious Ryuunosuke.

"Oh my God," she exclaimed and rolled off her friend and began to shake him. "Ryuunosuke, RYUUNOSUKE, WAKE THE HELL UP OR I'LL BITE YOU!" She yelled and saw a smile play across his lips.

With a smirk Ryuunosuke asked, "Where are ya gonna bite me Misaki? Now you've got me curious." He said, keeping his eyes shut.

"RYUUNOSUKE," Yori exclaimed excitedly, "you're ok!? Thank God, you seemed like you were dead when I first saw you." He said. "So how ya liking the color scheme guys?"

"It sucks major balls," Misaki answered simply. "I wish I understood what was going on a little more and—"

There was a familiar gasp and padded footsteps were heard approaching the three friends, "MISAKI-CHAN YOU _DID _COME BACK, AND YOU BROUGHT FRIENDS; I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS, I'M SO OOBER HAPPY RIGHT NOW!" Luneicia exclaimed loudly and excitedly. "Just sit still and I'll stop the swirly colors so I can see all your pretty eyebibbles," the cougar said and the button noise was heard echoing all through the strange world. "Okie dokie, you can open your eyes now!"

Everybody did as Luneicia instructed and opened their eyes. Misaki looked around and noticed that the world looked different from the last time she had been there. Now instead of nothing but white, there were a few buildings and roads; it looked a lot like a city.

Misaki turned to Luneicia, "Why does it look different Luneicia?" Misaki asked curiously. "Last time it was endless nothingness, but now…"

Luneicia nodded, "I'll tell you later, but for right now I wanna meet your sexy friends!" She said and walked towards Ryuunosuke and Yori who were now standing next to each other and staring at Luneicia in disbelief.

Misaki walked up next to the gorgeous cougar and pet her gently, "Ryuunosuke, Yori, this is Luneicia, Luneicia they're Ryuunosuke," she pointed to Ryuunosuke, "and Yori." She said and pointed to Yori.

Luneicia walked up to them and sniffed them like she had done to Misaki when they first met, "Huh…Misaki-chan…they seem like they also have potential within them, is that why you brought them here?" The cougar asked curiously and sniffed the guys again. "Yeah, I can sense the Devil and Death Arcana within them."

Yori and Ryuunosuke exchanged looks, "Um…what's that gotta do with anything?" Ryuunosuke asked in confusion.

"What does that even—" Yori was cut off when Luneicia released a loud roar, the same one she had released when she pounced at Misaki the first time.

Misaki's eyes widened when she understood what was going to happen, "LUNEICIA DON'T ATTACK THEM, THEY CAN'T—"

Yori and Ryuunosuke's screams cut Misaki off, "'ATTACK'!?" The two guys yelled at the same time.

When Misaki realized that Luneicia was getting ready to attack with the same powers she had used on her, she gasped fearfully. "RUN GUYS," she yelled, "IF SHE HITS YOU WITH THAT ATTACK YOU'RE SCREWED!" Misaki watched as Luneicia's eyes began to glow blue and she assumed the ice attack was coming. "Oh shit…" she whispered and began running for the guys.

The run seemed to last forever, but in reality it only lasted a few seconds at the speed Misaki's legs were taking her. Without a second thought, Misaki found where the attack was going to land and _when_; she _quickly _pushed her two friends out of the way right at the last second and took the attack for them. When it hit her, she was unable to move from the spot; she assumed she had been 'frozen' by the ice attack. She couldn't move or speak, but she was able to see and hear everything that was going on around her.

Yori and Ryuunosuke looked shocked and rushed to Misaki's aid, "Misaki, MISAKI, SAY SOMETHING!" Yori's worried voice urged. "C'mon, you've gotta move…" he said and touched Misaki's shoulder. "Ryuunosuke she's—" Yori was unable to finish what he was saying before he was attacked by Luneicia physically and sent flying against a building.

Ryuunosuke saw his friend fall unconscious and turned to Misaki after pin-pointing where Luneicia went. "Misaki…what the hell's going on with this cat, how is she—" He stopped talking when he spotted Luneicia running at him.

He gracefully dodged a simple pounce and was able to get her to run into a building herself. "Why would you throw me against a building," Luneicia asked and ran at Ryuunosuke again.

This time the cougar was able to pin him to the ground below and pulled back one of her front paws, her claws out and threatening to attack Ryuunosuke's neck. Although Misaki knew what Luneicia was trying to do, she didn't like seeing the battle and she didn't like the uncertain thoughts filling her mind. She had had an advantage in her battle because of her multiple Martial Arts' classes, but she didn't know if the other two could fight like that. What if Luneicia was mistaken about the potential she had sensed within the two?

Misaki could feel Ikami stirring within her mind, but she knew that now wasn't a good time to use the Persona. Somehow she knew that things would turn out the way they were supposed to, she knew that Ryuunosuke and Yori would awaken when they were meant to, and Luneicia would be able to help with that.

After a couple of seconds, Misaki saw a light envelope Ryuunosuke and an Arcana card appeared before him; it was Death. Suddenly a birdlike Persona appeared before the pinned Ryuunosuke. It was black and appeared to have a serpentine tongue and texture to it, it spread its huge wings a released a sharp cry and a fire attack which Luneicia was able to dodge easily. Right after, the bird was attempting to release another attack, but Luneicia looked up at it with a nod and it calmed down and disappeared.

"Hmm…it appears that Seth has answered your call Ryuunosuke-kun," Luneicia said calmly. "Being of the Death Arcana, you must be careful of the way you act in battle; Seth has the ability to overrun you." She said and turned to a frozen Misaki and back to Ryuunosuke. "Release a fire attack and aim it at Misaki-chan's feet, but NOT HER; fire is her weakness."

Ryuunosuke stood up, breathing heavily and turned his attention to Misaki's frozen form. "You expect me to aim her weakness AT her, there's no way I'd be able to do that…what if I hit her by accident and—"

Luneicia growled angrily, "I don't have time for you complaints Ryuunosuke-kun; I have to awaken Yori-kun tonight or else he'll be left behind." She said and ran towards Yori and began to battle with him.

Ryuunosuke turned to Misaki and approached her slowly with an unreadable expression on his handsome face, "Just bear with me Misaki…I can't 100% guarantee your safety right now." He said and closed his blue eyes.

The Arcana Card of Seth appeared before him and he broke it with his right hand causing it to make the sound of breaking glass. When the card broke, Seth appeared behind Ryuunosuke and unleashed a powerful fire attack _towards _Misaki. The attack ended up hitting the ground beneath her feet and the heat's intensity allowed Misaki to become unfrozen. She wasn't expecting to be unfrozen so quickly and she felt herself falling to the ground, but the painful feeling of body meeting concrete never came. Instead, Misaki landed in the arms of a worried Ryuunosuke.

"Are you ok Misaki," he asked worriedly.

Misaki gripped the white shirt Ryuunosuke was wearing and snuggled closer to him which seemed to catch him off guard. "S-s-sorry Ryuunosuke…I-I'm fr-freezing," she explained while shivering.

Ryuunosuke nodded and wrapped his arms around the freezing girl to share his body heat which had gone up due to the blush that played across his face, but he knew he had to keep a hold of Misaki no matter how embarrassing it was. For a while, Ryuunosuke watched Yori fight in silence until Yori was pinned by Luneicia. The cougar repeated what she had done to Ryuunosuke and Yori's mind responded in the same way.

After a few seconds of the pinning, the Arcana card of the Devil appeared before Yori. Just like Ryuunosuke, the Persona that Yori was tied to appeared behind his pinned form. There were a few differences, one being that Yori's Persona was not in the shape of a serpentine bird, instead it was in the shape of a beautiful winged woman clad in an all black one-piece outfit and black knee high high-heeled boots. She had a very pale skin tone and her hair was blonde with dark eyes; she was actually quite stunning compared to Ryuunosuke's creepy snake-bird.

Luneicia released Yori and looked up at the womanlike Persona with a nod, "Hmm…well Yori-kun, it seems like Succubus was the one who answered your call…although that seems strange."

Yori looked at his Persona in excitement, "SWEET! MY PERSONA'S A FRICKIN' HOTTIE," he yelled. His excitement was short lived however, because he spotted Ryuunosuke and Misaki; he ran up to them quickly. "Is she ok," he asked and got down to one knee.

Ryuunosuke nodded, "Yeah, she's just really cold, but she was talking a little while ago." He said and looked down at Misaki with a raised eyebrow, he was about to say her name, but stopped when he realized she had fallen asleep in his arms.

Luneicia joined the guys and a sleeping Misaki; she laid down next to Yori. "You two don't need to worry about anything, her Persona is the Empress Ikami and she's strong against Bufu skills, but she has yet to learn the ability 'Null Frozen' which prevents Misaki-chan from becoming frozen in battle." The cougar said and rubbed her head against Misaki. "I can guarantee she didn't feel any sort of pain when that Bufu attack hit her."

Ryuunosuke kept hold of Misaki and turned to Luneicia, "I think it's time for a couple of explanations. What is 'Persona' and why did you attack us?"

Luneicia yawned lazily and looked at Ryuunosuke with an uninterested expression, "As for 'Persona' you can ask Misaki-chan about it, but I attacked you in order to awaken you abilities." She said and received confused looks from the two guys. "Having a Persona is the only way to defeat Shadows, and in order for the ability to awaken the user must be put into a life or death situation. The Persona within is called when the user's life is in danger by a Shadow…or in an area that holds Shadows, understand?"

Yori raised an eyebrow, "I've heard 'Persona' used to describe a person's 'true-self,' is that true?"

Luneicia nodded, "Yup, but I'm sure you've heard 'Shadow' used in the same way, because it's true too." She said and sighed, seeming as though everything she was saying was repeated information. "A Shadow is the correct description of a human's inner-self, but if a person can come to terms with and accept the Shadow within, then it turns into a Persona. They're kinda the same thing, but they have differences from one another."

Ryuunosuke looked at Luneicia questionably, "Like?"

"To put it simply," Luneicia answered, "a Persona is good and a Shadow is bad, get it?"

"Wait a second," Yori started, "since my Persona is Succubus…is my 'true-self' a frickin girl!?"

Luneicia and Ryuunosuke laughed lightly, but Luneicia shook her head. "No…the true-self is personified by the feelings of the person. From what I get from you Yori-kun, you like beautiful women and you have a devilish attitude at times, meaning you enjoy causing trouble for people, am I right?"

Yori nodded, "Right on it." He said with a nod. "How did you get that from Succubus," he asked.

Ryuunosuke rolled his dark blue eyes, "She's beautiful and her arcana is the devil…it's obvious." He said and thought about Seth for a minute; he was a serpentine-bird of the death arcana, how did that define him?

Luneicia turned to Ryuunosuke, "A bird is free and a snake can be dangerous, just like you Ryuunosuke-kun. I'm sure that the majority of the time you do whatever you want to, which defines the free bird part." She said and appeared to have smiled. "The snake may look harmless to the inexperienced eye, but mess with the wrong one and you're dead. Earlier I could sense what your feelings were while fighting me, but you didn't want to hurt me because I'm larger than you are. However you DID attack me pretty fiercely, like a snake does when in trouble; certain snakes attack and flee, just wanting to get away." She said. "That's how you're described; free but dangerous when provoked. That's your true-self Ryuunosuke-kun."

Ryuunosuke looked at the ground, pleased with the answer he received, but still curious about the arcana of Seth. "What does the Death have to do with anything?"

Luneicia seemed to be deep in thought, "Perhaps it has to do with countless possibilities."

Yori looked confused, "Possibilities + death doesn't seem to add up."

"Think about it Yori," Ryuunosuke said, "think about all the different religions out there. There are some that involve reincarnation, some involve going straight to a heaven, some say that nothing happens after death."

Luneicia nodded, "I'm glad you understand Ryuunosuke-kun." The cougar said. "Maybe you're destiny is always changing, or maybe it goes in different ways; there are so many things that your arcana could mean."

Yori laughed, "I never knew you were so deep, man." He said happily.

Luneicia looked up, "In your world time keeps moving forward, I think it would be best if you were to go back." She said and looked back at Ryuunosuke, Yori and sleeping Misaki. "The next time you come here—which WILL be soon—I'll have something for you; it'll help you get around Wansubo without too much trouble." She said and stood up. "Follow me and I'll take you to the gates…or really it'd be 'portal' I guess."

Ryuunosuke gently positioned Misaki so she would be easy to carry, and stood up. He and Yori followed Luneicia to an area of pretty much nothing. The cougar urged them to speed up and when they reached her she sat down simply and the sound of a button being pressed was heard.

"You better hurry guys," Luneicia said, "in just moments the weird swirly-ness will come back and you'll be unable to see."

As the two guys and the sleeping girl got closer to the black and white portal, they saw the city setting disappear and the nausea-inducing 1960s atmosphere return to the world. However, they managed to make it through the portal before the swirly-ness completely enveloped the world, and get back to Hagakue.

***

**Ambie's Second Note: **And this is the end of chapter seven! Review with your thoughts please!


	9. Chapter Eight

**Ambie's Note: **HEELLOOO! Heehee, Ambie's back with Chapter Eight. This chapter actually took me a while for no longer than it is, don't get me wrong, it's a long chapter, but usually I'm a bit faster than this *shrugs* oh well. As you continue to read, I'd like to remind you of similarities. Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **The Persona Series is not mine and it never will be!

***

**Chapter Eight****:**

Misaki sat up with a yawn, taking in her surroundings; it was strange, but she felt like she had gotten a good night's sleep even though she remembered the trip to Wansubo. She continued to look around and realized she was in the living room lying on the large, white couch and Yori and Ryuunosuke were asleep on the floor.

Misaki figured that the two guys would be pretty damned tired because it was their first trip to Wansubo. She knew from her own experience that awakening a Persona was extremely tiring; the fatigue pretty much washed over you the minute it was awakened.

Misaki stretched and looked at the clock hanging on the wall; it read 6am, it was still relatively early so she decided to let the guys enjoy their sleeping. Misaki sat on the couch the way a person is supposed to and just stared at the two guys, particularly Ryuunosuke. For some reason Misaki was having a difficult time looking away from him; he looked all peaceful and stuff and she just wanted to jump him.

She shook her head, "I'm a freak," she whispered quietly and managed to look away from Ryuunosuke's peaceful form.

Misaki stood up and headed upstairs to get ready for the regular school day that would start in three hours. Before actually ascending the staircase, Misaki saw her cellphone lying on the kitchen table and she grabbed it and opened it. She remembered that the name 'Tsubame Asuno' had been on screen for a split second as the three teens made their way to Wansubo.

The name was familiar to her; she remembered meeting Tsubaki Asuno and hearing about Tsubame, the 'aggressive twin' from Yori's pointless ramblings. Sure the name was recognizable, but what the hell did it mean? Was it some kind of warning, or was it just a text message Misaki had received?

Misaki shook her head once again and climbed the stairs and headed down the long hall to her bedroom. "Who in the world would send me a message with a random name in it," she asked herself as she removed her pajama shirt and changed into her white, uniform shirt. She slipped out of her pajama shorts and grabbed her plaid skirt and put it on and continued to talk to herself in a whisper, "Well…I suppose it could've been a wrong number. Maybe somebody was talking about her and they dialed the wrong number." She said and grabbed her white, knee-high socks and put them on; she shook her head. "No…that seems unlikely…SOMETHING is telling me it was some sort of warning. I mean what would be the odds of me getting a text RIGHT as I was going to Wansubo?"

She sighed and ceased her pointless ramblings as she grabbed her blue brush and ran it through her black, layered hair. Once Misaki was pleased with her appearance, she headed for the upstairs bathroom and went potty; she almost brushed her teeth but found out it would have been pointless considering she was about to make breakfast. Once she was done in the bathroom, Misaki headed back downstairs with her MP3 player and headphones. She didn't want to wake the guys, but she couldn't stand silence; she just didn't function well in it.

As she descended the last step, Misaki quickly glanced at the sleeping guys again, keeping her eyes on Ryuunosuke longer than Yori. She remembered how worried they had _both _seemed when she had been frozen, even though she hadn't felt anything. However, Ryuunosuke seemed more concerned than his buddy was for her safety as he launched the fire attack, and she remembered how safe she felt when he had caught her.

Misaki's eyes widened and she felt herself blush. "Damnit…I just met these two a few days ago, why am I so damned used to them already," she asked herself in an almost silent whisper, "usually it takes so much more time." She said with a sigh. "Maybe it has to do with our Personas, maybe they bring us closer together or something."

Misaki dropped her troublesome thoughts and opened the black refrigerator, seeing what she could find inside. Her eyes landed on the carton of eggs and the package of bacon, but there wasn't anything else that seemed to do well for breakfast; they really needed to do some shopping before the end of the week.

With a shrug, Misaki grabbed out the two breakfast foods and laid them on the marble countertop. She turned on her blue MP3 player and put her headphones on and began to listen to her random assortment of music she had downloaded onto the small device.

Misaki walked to the stove and turned it on after grabbing a clean skillet; she cracked a few eggs and began to cook the familiar dish. Within about 15 minutes, Misaki had made enough eggs for everyone in the house and she was ready to start cooking the bacon; she just hoped the guys didn't mind what they were having.

When she finished cooking, Misaki did the dishes she had dirtied up and placed the plates in a spot where they'd stay warmer longer, keeping _hers_ out so she could eat it. Misaki sat down at her table with a fork and began to eat the breakfast she had prepared. As she ate, her mind kept wandering back to the weird message she had received with Tsubame Asuno's name.

Misaki took another bite and removed her headphones and turned off her MP3. She grabbed her black flip-phone from her jacket pocket and flipped it open with her free hand and just stared at the screen. After nothing happened for a couple of seconds, Misaki went to her text inbox and realized she had received one new text message. She selected it even after seeing it was from an unknown name and number; she hesitantly opened it, feeling like it was bad news plain and simple.

When the message loaded Misaki raised an eyebrow and whispered a quiet "huh." Strangely enough, she had received a multimedia message. Absentmindedly Misaki closed the cellphone and placed it back on the tabletop and began to eat again; she'd open it when she came home from school.

She shook her head, "What in the world's going on," she asked herself in a whisper. "All this stuff about Personas and Shadows is already confusing enough, but now I've been receiving weird-ass messages from an unknown person." She said, still in a whisper. "Who has my number and who's sick enough to send me all of this stuff?" Misaki shook her head once again and finished her breakfast silently, deep in thought about things that seemed to be impossible.

After a few more minutes of quiet eating, Misaki had cleaned her plate and placed it in the sink. She rinsed off her dishes in order to better clean them later and looked up at the clock on the wall; it was already 7am and time to wake up the rest of the house. She looked over to the peacefully sleeping guys on her living room floor and sighed, not wanting to wake them up.

Misaki walked a few steps and approached the couch, she smiled when a sudden 'evilness' enveloped her as her eyes landed on the couch's large pillows. She picked up the nearest one and looked at Yori who was curled up into a ball; with an evil grin, Misaki smacked him with the fluffy pillow.

"IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP YOU TWO," Misaki yelled and hit Ryuunosuke with the pillow, then hit Yori again.

The two guys' eyes shot open, "HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING MISAKI," Yori yelled as Misaki continued to smack the guys with the pillow.

Ryuunosuke raised his arms in defense, "STOP IT MISAKI! I'M UP, I'M UP," He yelled.

Misaki giggled happily and put the pillow back on the couch where it belonged and plopped down as well. "So, how'd you guys sleep last night," she asked curiously. "It was probably weird considering you were at my house, but hey," she said with a smile, happy to be talking to people after an hour of uncomfortable silence.

Yori raised an eyebrow and rubbed his brown eyes, "How can you have so much energy after last night? I don't think I've ever been so damned tired." He said with a yawn.

Ryuunosuke stretched his arms over his head with a yawn, "I actually slept pretty well, better than I've slept at my place lately." He said and smiled at Misaki. "How are you, you're not in any pain or anything are you," he asked sounding worried.

Yori also looked at Misaki and nodded, "Yeah. After all you were FROZEN for quite a while, you're not hurt are ya?"

Misaki smirked and shook her head, "Please, I didn't feel anything; no pain or anything of the like." She said and looked at the guys with a worried look of her own. "Yori…did you awaken to your Persona last night; I fell asleep before making sure everything was fine."

Yori nodded, "Yeah, and lemme tell ya; MY Persona is a B-A-B-E!" He exclaimed happily, spelling out the word 'babe.'

Ryuunosuke and Misaki exchanged looks and shrugs, "Um…ok, that's good I guess." Misaki said and slid off the couch to the floor. "Guys…I don't think it's a good idea to go around talking about this stuff, we don't want others to have to go through this shit ok?"

Ryuunosuke and Yori nodded at the same time. "Yeah, Tsudandi High is a school in a small town," Ryuunosuke started, "talking about Luneicia and the other world will likely get other students in on it; it'll act as a rumor."

"Uh-huh, and you know how people are; if there's a rumor they want in on it," Yori agreed, "we'll just keep this between us three."

The three 2nd Years nodded, "Here's an idea," Misaki said, "we'll only discuss this at my place, nowhere else, and if we wanna go back, we've gotta go there from my house. Does that make sense guys?"

Yori nodded, but Ryuunosuke didn't look too convinced. "I dunno Misaki," he started, "you have Tsukiki-chan and Hikari-san to think about; I don't think it'd be good if they found out about it."

Misaki was about to protest, but she stopped herself when she realized Ryuunosuke had a point; instead she nodded. "You're right Ryuunosuke," she said, "but how are we gonna learn about it if—"

Yori raised his hand, "Alright…we can enter from my place; I don't have to worry about anybody finding out in my house I—"

Misaki was confused about where Yori was going with that, "Um Yori…didn't you say that BOTH of your parents were detectives?" She questioned. "Wouldn't that make the chances of Wansubo being discovered more likely; your parents are paid to solve mysteries and whatnot…"

Yori laughed and scratched the back of his neck, "Heh-heh…I suppose you have a point there." He said with a sigh. "Then what are we gonna do about getting there secretly," he asked.

Misaki turned to Ryuunosuke, "What about you Ryuunosuke," she asked, "would we be able to get there from your place?"

Ryuunosuke's blue eyes widened slightly, "I have a brother and my parents at home and—"

"Pfft, your brother wouldn't be able to figure it out," Yori said with a light laugh, "he's a dumbass, and your parents are never home; your place is perfect, Dude."

Ryuunosuke smirked and nodded while rubbing the back of his neck, "Good point Yori." He said with a nod and dropped his arm. "We'll use my place to get there, does that sound good?"

Misaki and Yori nodded, "Ok, we'll stop by your place tonight and visit Luneicia; maybe she can answer a few questions or something." Misaki said.

"I think that'll work," Ryuunosuke said with a nod.

Yori thought for a second, "Hang on…didn't Luneicia warn us about Shadows, do you think that we should bring something to arm ourselves with, just to be safe?"

Misaki's eyes went wide is shock, "You're right Yori…Luneicia said that Shadows are mankind's enemy and only Persona-users can defeat them." She said and looked at Yori. "What kinda weapons did you have in mind," she asked.

Yori shrugged, "I dunno…whatever we can fight with; swords, guns, etc…"

Ryuunosuke nodded, "To be honest, my parents are weirdoes that collect weapons from 'ancient warriors,' so we've gotta whole room full of REAL swords, spears and things of the like."

"Ooo…so THAT'S what in that 'off-limits' room," Yori said and received a nod from Ryuunosuke. "Alright…whatever's in there is gonna haveta do and—WAIT please tell me you have some sorta double-handed sword in that room, I can actually USE those."

Ryuunosuke shrugged, "I dunno…I've never really thoroughly LOOKED in there; I've only been in that room a few times to help clean." He said and shrugged. "I really don't plan on using a sword or anything along those lines, I'll probably take a pistol and a shitload of ammo with me; hmph I wouldn't even know how to HOLD a sword…"

Yori smirked, "That's because you're not a cool-ass fighter like me." He said and Ryuunosuke smirked with a shrug; Yori turned to Misaki with a curious look. "What about you Misaki, what kinda weapon are you gonna use?"

Misaki smiled proudly, "I don't need to borrow a weapon from Ryuunosuke, I've got two with me all the time, y'know?" She said and saw the confusement on the two guys' faces. "I took a variety of martial arts classes just to learn them for the hell of it, but now I have the chance to actually USE all three types!"

Ryuunosuke raised an eyebrow, "So you're just gonna beat the shit outta Shadows instead of using a weapon to KILL them?" He questioned. "You're not gonna be a pain in the ass to have on the battlefield are you Misaki, I just don't think martial arts are gonna—"

Misaki turned to Ryuunosuke with a glare, "You don't think we were taught how to kill somebody?" She asked and shook her head with a smirk. "Ryuunosuke…those classes went into GREAT detail about killing people, and I was able to earn the highest rankings in all three of my classes; so I suggest you shut up right now."

Ryuunosuke lifted his arms in defense, "Ok, ok, sorry if I upset you; I just didn't know you were taught that stuff in an extracurricular activity."

Misaki shrugged, "We were where I went, just trust me on that one." She said and looked at the clock. "Alrighty, its 7:30, so I've gotta go wake up Tsukiki and Hikari. I made you guys breakfast, it's just kinda sitting in the microwave; you'll need to warm it up." She said and headed upstairs.

***

After waking up the rest of the house and eating breakfast and helping Tsukiki get ready for school, Misaki picked up the dirty dishes and brushed her teeth. As she walked downstairs, she glimpsed at the clock and saw that it was 8:45am; time to head out.

When the group of four hit the correct turn, Misaki turned to Tsukiki and pat her sister atop the head. "Ok Tsukiki, today I'm not gonna be straight home so we can't go get something to eat after school."

Tsukiki's previous smile faded and she looked up at Misaki pleadingly, "Why not Sissy…I wanna hang out with you guys; what do you gotta do?" She asked with a crushed look on her face.

Misaki kneeled down to Tsukiki's height and looked her sister in the blue eyes, "I know you do, but I'm gonna be busy for a few days." She said and smiled at Tsukiki reassuringly. "I promise, though, we WILL go again when I'm not booked, is that ok?"

"That's what Dad says, but we still haven't gone out," Tsukiki replied sadly, looking at the road beneath her.

Ryuunosuke and Yori knelt down as well, "It's ok Tsukiki-chan," Ryuunosuke assured and pat the seven year old on the head, "I'll be sure to MAKE your sister keep that promise."

Yori smiled and nodded, "Me too, I'm not gonna let her dodge this one, does that make you feel better?"

Tsukiki's face went red as Yori spoke and she nodded shyly, "Ok…but I'm holding you two to that." She said and tried desperately to avoid eye contact with Yori.

Ryuunosuke and Misaki stood up, but Yori nodded and pat Tsukiki on the head like the other two had done before them. "That a girl," he said and stood up, "now you better hurry or you're gonna be late for school."

Tsukiki nodded and smiled at Misaki, "Ok Sissy, I'll see ya later then." She said and skipped off happily; all her previous sadness gone.

Misaki smirked when Tsukiki was out of sight, "I wonder why she likes Yori so much; she must have weird taste in guys." She said and laughed lightly.

"Hey," Yori complained, "I take that VERY offensively Misaki." He said as the three 2nd Years headed towards Tsudandi High.

Ryuunosuke seemed to be deep in thought as they walked, and when Misaki caught on to it she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You're thinking Ryuunosuke…what's going through your mind," she asked curiously.

Ryuunosuke sighed, "Tsukiki-chan said something about her dad, but I think it's weird that he didn't make an appearance last night; does he work nights or something?"

Misaki felt a worried feeling wash over her as she realized what Ryuunosuke was talking about, "You're right; that IS weird." She said and thought momentarily. "Y'know—now that you've said something about him—I actually haven't seen him since the first day I arrived here. That's so weird cuz Hikari said that he was supposed to be back Tuesday at 7pm…"

Yori raised an eyebrow, "Whoa, seriously?" He questioned. "That seems kinda weird; where does he work, do you know?"

Misaki shook her head, "N-no…I never even asked; something like this happening never occurred to me." She confessed and quickly shook away the negative thoughts that were washing over her. "Ok, if he's not back by tomorrow I'll let you guys know and maybe we can try to figure something out," she said and received a nod from each guy, "for now, we need to focus on school and stuff. I don't feel like being late and getting on Shanagi's bad side and never going back to the good…like you two have."

Yori and Ryuunosuke's eyes went wide at the mention of Ms. Shanagi, "Holy shit, you're right Misaki!" Ryuunosuke said in a panicked voice.

"Well wha-what time is it," Yori asked in the same tone, "please, please, PLEASE tell me we have plenty of time to—"

Misaki looked down at her watch before Yori finished his sentence, "We've got three minutes to get to the school and get into our classroom and sit our asses in our seats!" She exclaimed, feeling her own panic begin to set in.

"SHIT, SHIT, SHIT," Ryuunosuke yelled, "we've gotta RUN!"

Yori and Misaki nodded and began to rush into the school, leaving Ryuunosuke behind for a couple of seconds. Upon realizing his two friends had left him behind, he rushed after them in an even deeper panic.

The three High Schoolers ran until they reached the school doors and entered the building hastily. They quickly headed up the main staircase and maneuvered through the relatively empty hallways until they reached 2nd Year Class 2-3. When they reached the sliding doors, Misaki was in front of the other two and got to the door first; she rushed in and didn't realize that she had closed her two friends out of the room.

She only noticed when she sat down in her desk _just _as the tardy bell rang. Her eyes widened when she realized the severity of the situation, "COME ON GUYS, SHANAGI ISN'T—"

She was cut off when the second door to the classroom slid open and Ms. Shanagi walked in with her arms crossed. The teacher's evil eyes automatically drifted to Ryuunosuke's and Yori's seats. When she realized the two trouble-makers weren't there she rolled her eyes with a sharp sigh.

"HANABI, KINTOKA," she yelled angrily towards the other door, "WHY ARE YOU NOT IN YOUR SEATS PREPARING FOR TODAY'S LECTURE! THE TARDY BELL HAS RUNG AND I DO NOT SEE YOU IN MY CLASSROOM!"

Misaki sank into her chair with a nervous giggle, "That was my bad," she whispered to the girl next to her.

The girl smiled and shrugged, "Either way she would've yelled at them; I dunno the details, but apparently they pissed her off pretty bad one time." She whispered back.

The first door to the classroom opened slowly and Ryuunosuke poked his head in with an innocent smile on his attractive face, "Why good morning Ms. Shanagi and might I say how wonderful you look today and—"

Ms. Shanagi didn't seem at all pleased with Ryuunosuke's 'complement,' that was obvious by the angry glare the older woman wore on her face. "SHUT THE HELL UP AND SIT YOUR ASS DOWN, YOU TOO YORI! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT ANYTHING BUT HOW _AGGRAVATING _YOU TWO ARE TO ME; NOW SIT!" She commanded, red because of the anger she felt.

Ryuunosuke's dark blue eyes went wide and he hustled to his seat, Yori not three steps behind him. The two friends sat down and _quickly_ faced the front of the classroom, folding their hands properly on their wooden desks.

Ms. Shanagi nodded and walked to her podium, "I hope you guys remembered to finish your homework I assigned, that is due today with NO exceptions." She said and stood in front of the first row of desks. "Alrighty, pass it up and make sure your NAME IS ON IT."

As sounds of students ripping pieces of paper from their notebooks traveled through the room, Misaki looked at Yori and Ryuunosuke with an innocent smile. "Sorry about getting you guys in trouble," she whispered, "I guess I was in so much of a rush that I forgot you two were behind me."

Ryuunosuke shrugged simply as he passed his homework up, "No biggie, we get yelled at everyday; Shanagi HATES us like you wouldn't believe." He replied in a whisper; Yori nodded in agreement.

Misaki removed her paper from her red folder and passed it towards the front, "So what'd you guys do to make her want to murder you?"

Yori snickered as he passed _his _homework up, "You don't wanna know, we never want it to be repeated so we keep it a secret."

Ryuunosuke nodded with a snicker of his own, "Yeah…no student deserves to be tortured in the way we do everyday." He whispered and sighed. "Because of a seemingly harmless prank, Yori and I haveta put up with Shanagi's yelling and we get EXTRA homework over unfamiliar stuff EVERY NIGHT and—it's just horrible Misaki, no questions asked."

Misaki rolled her eyes and paid attention to class, dropping the previous subject. In the back of her mind, Misaki couldn't shake away the uncomfortable feeling that was enveloping her; she needed to know _where _her father was and what he was doing…

***

**Ambie's Second Note: **AHA! The plot thickens...kinda...it DOES make you wonder where Kazuki is, huh? Reveiws are very much appriciated!


	10. Chapter Nine

**Ambie's Note: **Here's chapter nine...it's actually a pretty short one compared to the preceding chapters...and not much happens, but this stuff IS important. I dunno how many similarities are in this one, but there are bound to be SOME.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Persona Series.

***

**Chapter Nine****:**

The lunch bell sounded at noon as it usually did and Misaki couldn't feel any more relieved about being able to eat. Normally that wouldn't have mattered to her, but today she was having difficulties following a novel her Classic Literature class was reading…for multiple reasons. For one the novel sucked, for two the novel was written in an archaic language, and for three she didn't have the ability to pay attention because of recent events.

Yori stood up in his desk and stretched his arms over his head, releasing a loud yawn. "Damn guys, do you have ANY idea what the hell this story is about," he asked with another stretch, "I fell asleep as soon as she started to read it."

Ryuunosuke stood up and stretched himself, "No clue." He stated simply.

Misaki shook her head and got out of her seat, "Nope." She stated and shoved the crappy book into her desk. "When the teacher started to the reading, my mind disappeared…"

Yori sighed in annoyance, "Damn…this means that we're all gonna fail this section of the Midterms; well for me this section and every other section."

Ryuunosuke smirked and nodded, "I completely agree with you Yori; you're gonna fail every section of the Midterms."

Misaki laughed lightly at Ryuunosuke's response but stopped when her stomach growled; she laid her hand on it with an embarrassed smile. "I'm hungry, let's go get some lunch."

"Where at," Yori questioned.

Ryuunosuke thought for a second, "Hmm…what's being served in the cafeteria today?"

"Today's Thursday right," Yori asked…well more like stated, "since it's towards the middle of the month that means today's lunch is—it's the Sushi Buffet!" He exclaimed excitedly.

Ryuunosuke's deep blue eyes went wide and a happy smile appeared on his face, "Seriously!? YES, I've been waiting for the Sushi Buffet ALL MONTH LONG…it's the only thing that's edible here." He said, the last part quietly.

Misaki cringed with disgust at the mention of sushi. She had never liked the stuff, well not since she was three anyway. She remembered that the family had gone to the beach for the day and they had taken a cooler of sushi with them and on the way there Misaki got hungry and grabbed herself a small helping of the food. She was able to eat most of it, but when the family arrived at the beach she laid the food on the floor of the family car. When the day was done and the family was getting ready to leave, Misaki had forgotten that the sushi she had had been sitting out all day and she took a bite; she ended up puking up _everything _she had put in her mouth that day and never touched sushi again.

Misaki shook her head, "Ugh…just hearing that word makes me wanna hurl." She said and saw Ryuunosuke's and Yori's faces change from happiness to shock. Misaki raised an eyebrow and asked, "what? I know that sushi is, like, the most famous food from Japan, but I've had a HORRIBLE experience with it and haven't dared to touch the stuff since I was three."

"No way Misaki," Ryuunosuke said, "how the hell can you hate sushi? What in the world happened to make you not desire it anymore?"

Misaki looked away and shivered slightly, "I don't wanna talk about it." She said and changed the subject. "I think I'll go uptown and get some take-out or something, you two can go eat some raw fish wrapped up in seaweed if you REALLY want to."

The two guys sighed with nods, "Alright, alright," Ryuunosuke said, "we'll see you after lunch."

Misaki nodded, "Ok, c'ya." She said and Yori and Ryuunosuke headed to the cafeteria to eat the horrible fish food.

After checking to make sure she had some money on her, Misaki headed out of Classroom 2-3 and walked down the main staircase. When she was on the last step she checked the clock on the wall and nodded approvingly at the time; she had 50 minutes to get something for her lunch.

"Hey Misaki-senpai," a female's voice called just as Misaki was getting ready to exit the school.

Misaki turned around and smiled at Tsubaki Asuno, "Hi Tsubaki-chan." She greeted happily.

Tsubaki smiled, but appeared to be worried about something, Misaki didn't question the 1st Year however. "Are you skipping on the cafeteria lunch today?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd get some quick take-out or something, why?"

Tsubaki smiled again, "Do you wanna go together?" She asked. "I'm a vegetarian so I'm not eating lunch today."

Misaki nodded, "Sure," she answered, "where do you wanna go then?"

Tsubaki shrugged, "Wherever you want Senpai." She said and sighed, seeming nervous. "Um, actually can we get something and eat somewhere more private? I kinda wanna tell you something…"

Misaki looked at Tsubaki and nodded seriously, "Ok, we can go to the Gas Station and just pick something up from there, is that alright?"

"Uh-huh, but let's make it quick, what I've gotta tell you is very important."

With that, the two girls exited the High School and made the short walk to the town's only Gas Station. When they got there, Misaki quickly picked up a medium sized lunchable, a pop, and a package of chocolate Pocky. After Misaki paid for her lunch, Tsubaki did the same and they walked to a White Gazebo semi-close to Tsudandi High and sat down.

Misaki opened her pop and took a drink, "What'd you need to talk about Tsubaki-chan?" She asked curiously took another drink of her pop.

Tsubaki looked down at the picnic table with a sigh, "Um, it's about Tsubame, my twin sister…"

At the mention of Tsubame's name, Misaki stopped drinking her drink and laid it on the table. "What about her," she asked nervously, remembering the strange text she had received.

Tsubaki sighed again and took a drink of the water she had purchased, "Remember how she was gone yesterday because she was sick?" She asked and Misaki nodded slowly. "Well, I told her good night last night, but this morning she wasn't in her bedroom when I went to see how she was feeling. I mean, she IS a little bit of a trouble-maker and tends to wander from home, but somehow I KNOW something has happened."

Misaki raised an eyebrow, "Why do you think its different this time if it's happened before?" She asked in a kind tone. "Was she acting weird or something like that?"

Tsubaki shrugged, "I-I dunno, but usually she only wanders off to blow off steam; yesterday she was at home relaxing, I don't think she had any reason to get angry." She replied. "As for acting weird, she WAS saying something about a strange dream she had had about a three-faced person on a horse talking to her about 'potential.'" She said with another shrug. "I'm not sure why, but that dream seemed to be weird coming from her…"

"Um, I hate to bring this up, but did you see any signs of struggle or hear any strange noises overnight," Misaki asked, carefully placing her words.

At that question, Tsubaki's gray-blue eyes widened and much worry was apparent within them. "No noises, but her blankets were all messed up and a few of her things seemed as though they were shoved off the shelf," she explained, "B-BUT her room has always been messy and stuff so I didn't take it too seriously; however—now that you mention it—it does kinda strike me as odd…"

Misaki nodded slowly and took another sip of her drink, "Not that I mind helping, but why come to me of all people?"

Tsubaki shook her head, "I-I dunno, but for some reason something that makes me think that only YOU can figure out what's happened to Tsubame."

"Why though Tsubaki-chan," she asked, "can you figure out WHAT makes you feel that way?"

"No I can't, but I feel like you may know something and—" Tsubaki cut herself off quickly, "I-I'm not accusing you or anything like that, please don't think that's why and—do you have ANY ideas?"

For some reason, Misaki felt as though Tsubaki had an idea about her Persona, and she strongly believed that Tsubaki could be trusted with the information on Wansubo. "Ok Tsubaki-chan," she started and put her drink on the table, "I'm gonna tell you something, but I want you to keep it between us."

Tsubaki nodded, "Of course Senpai, ANY kinda information about where Tsubame MIGHT be will help me so much." She said.

With a nod, Misaki began to explain everything that had happened to her in the past few days of living and Hagakue. Everything from Personas to Shadows and Luneicia, Wansubo and the weird portal that was opened by Misaki's cell. As Misaki explained all of this, the two girls steadily ate their lunches, and by the end of the description their food was gone and they were on the last sips of their drinks.

At the end of the discussion, Tsubaki shook her head, "To anybody other than me, that story would sound completely made up, but somehow I find it completely believable." The 1st Year said with a sigh. "I know this is sudden, but I want to go with you to Ryuunosuke-senpai's house tonight and I want to see the place you called 'Wansubo.'"

Misaki's eyes went wide, "It's dangerous though," she said. "For one it's impossible to see through the weird 1960s Hippie swirly-ness, and for two Yori, Ryuunosuke and I might end up having to fight some sort of battle and you don't have a weapon or anything."

Tsubaki looked down sadly, "That may be true, but I just KNOW Tsubame is in that world and I wanna get her out safely…I-I feel responsible for my sister's safety." She said and jerked her head up and looked at Misaki with tears welling up in her gray-blue eyes. "Please, I promise I won't get in the way and I promise I won't tell anybody about it…please Senpai…I feel like this is something I NEED to do!"

Misaki sighed and looked down, "I know how you feel, but I don't want to put you OR your sister in danger and I—"

"Please Senpai," Tsubaki begged, practically in a whisper.

After a look into Tsubaki's teared up eyes Misaki sighed again, "Ok…if you don't have a weapon, I'll protect you if that need arises," she said and saw Tsubaki's face light up, "HOWEVER, if Tsubame-chan IS in that world somewhere I don't want you to overreact and go rushing in alone; leave the rescuing to Ryuunosuke, Yori and I, do you understand Tsubaki-chan?"

Tsubaki smiled in relief and she nodded, "You have my word Senpai." She said and looked at her watch. "Um…lunch will be over in about ten minutes; we should be getting back to the school."

Misaki nodded and the two girls stood up; they walked over to a nearby trashcan and tossed away their leftover messes. After the last piece of trash was thrown away, they jogged back to Tsudandi at a constant pace. As the High School came into sight, Misaki realized if Tsubame _was _within Wansubo, the hunch she had about the text being a warning may have been true which meant that there was _more _to the other world than originally thought.

***

**Ambie's Second Note: **AHA AGAIN! The plot CONTINUES to thicken...uh...yeah, sorry about that. Anyways please leave reviews, I'd be very happy!


	11. Chapter Ten

**Ambie's Note: **HEEELLLO! Heehee...it's kinda been awhile...hasn't it? I dunno but here's chapter ten! This chapter is KINDA lacking in action, but you should still read it to understand what's going on. Anyways some similarities may be present like usual.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Persona Series Atlus does.

***

**Chapter Ten****: **

After a few more hours of school, the 3 o' clock bell rang and the class stood up and exited the classroom. Once the majority of the class was gone, Misaki turned to Yori and Ryuunosuke.

"Are we heading straight to Ryuunosuke's house, or what," she questioned.

Yori and Ryuunosuke nodded, "Yeah, but didn't you say you had something to tell us before we left?" Ryuunosuke asked.

Misaki nodded with a nervous sigh; she had yet to tell the guys about Tsubaki going with them. "Well…you guys know that I went out for lunch," she started, "as I was leaving the building Tsubaki-chan caught up to me and we got lunch together. We ate under the Gazebo down the street and she told me something kinda shocking…"

Yori raised an eyebrow out of curiosity, "…and that was…?"

Misaki sighed again, "She told me about her sister; she's apparently missing…" She explained and saw glints of worry play across each guy's face.

"'Missing,' are you sure, Tsubame tends to wander off when she's pissed about something," Yori said, "and trust me, the girl's ALWAYS pissed about something."

Ryuunosuke shook his head, "No…if that was the case, then Tsubaki wouldn't be worried about it. Did she say anything else?" He asked, turning towards Misaki.

She nodded, "Yeah…I asked her if there were any signs of struggle and she said that Tsubame-chan's room was even messier than usual." Misaki explained. "Another thing…um…somehow Tsubaki-chan easily caught onto the fact that I had a Persona, and when I told her about Luneicia and Wansubo she completely believed it without a doubt."

At that the two guys' eyes went wide, "How though? I mean, none of us have said anything about it to ANYONE, how could Tsubaki figure it out after only meeting you once before?" Ryuunosuke asked.

Yori seemed to go into thought for a second, "I'm not positive…but do you think that maybe Tsubaki has the potential to have a Persona?" He questioned seriously. "I mean, it'd make a lot of since if that were the case, dontcha think?"

Misaki seriously thought about Yori's suggestion, and the guy had a point. Nobody else in the school seemed to notice anything different about Misaki, Ryuunosuke or Yori, but Tsubaki easily caught on without even having any prior knowledge on the subject.

"She might, but Tsubaki doesn't seem like much of a fighter," Ryuunosuke said and Yori nodded in agreement. "I know Tsubame kicks serious ass, but Tsubaki is the one always keeping the peace between her sister and…the rest of the town."

"I dunno, but after I told her about Wansubo, Tsubaki-chan seemed to think that Tsubame-chan was taken there; she was so sure about it that she asked to join us when we go there today." Misaki continued to explain. "She begged to come with us even though she had no weapon or Persona…I agreed to it and promised to protect her if I needed to."

Yori's brown eyes went wide and worry was completely vivid within them, "WHAT!? We can't take her there, what if something happens; how are we gonna explain it to…ANYBODY!?"

Misaki nodded, "What, you don't think I didn't already think about that? Naturally that was the FIRST thing I thought of, and I'm worried too, but Tsubaki-chan feels responsible for her sister's safety and I couldn't turn her away." She said with a sigh. "I still don't know how I'd explain this to anybody, but I strongly believe she'll be fine with us…"

"Misaki…if anything were to happen to EITHER of the twins and I witnessed it," Yori said with a sigh, "I'd never be able to forgive myself." That comment seemed strange coming from Yori, but Misaki knew he was completely serious about it.

Suddenly the door to the classroom opened, "Yori-senpai…don't worry about me; I'll be fine and I won't get in the way."

Ryuunosuke, Misaki and Yori turned to the door and saw Tsubaki standing there with one hand resting on her chest and the other at her side; she looked worried but determined at the same time. Misaki could tell that the 1st Year was completely serious about going with them, and Misaki knew there was nothing _any _of them could do or say to get Tsubaki to change her mind.

Ryuunosuke nodded firmly, "She'll be fine." He said simply and turned to Yori. "You know that we can't get her to change her mind, and the fact that she's so determined will be the reason we'll be able to figure everything out."

Yori looked at Tsubaki and nodded approvingly, "Ok," he said simply, "while we're there, I want you to stay behind me at all times; is that clear Tsubaki?"

Tsubaki smiled and nodded, "I promise that I won't get in the way, Senpai."

Misaki and Ryuunosuke exchanged semi-worried looks, but nodded, "Tsubaki-chan, do you know how to use ANY type of weapon?" Misaki asked.

The 1st Year thought for a second before nodding, "Well I was in the Archery Club throughout all of Middle School, and I was pretty good with the Long Bow." She explained, seeming relatively proud of herself.

Ryuunosuke nodded, "Ok, I know for a fact that my parents have a few bow and arrow models in their weird weapon room, since I used to play around with them when I was younger."

Tsubaki spoke, "Um…if you think you'll be hurt, everybody in my family is some sort of doctor, and I know how to tend to any kind of wound." She said almost shyly. "I just thought I'd throw that out there, so if you get hurt I SHOULD be able to help you."

The three 2nd Years nodded, impressed with Tsubaki's abilities. After a bit more of conversation, the four High Schoolers got their stuff together and headed for Ryuunosuke's place. As they approached Hitori Street, they were relieved to find out that it had been reopened to the public, even though many Police Officers wandered around the area.

Yori sighed, "Damn…the street's been opened again…now Ryuunosuke and I can't stay at Misaki's place for another night."

Misaki smirked and shook her head, "Yeah too bad." She said sarcastically.

Ryuunosuke smirked as well, "I was looking forward to Misaki inviting us into her room," he said and shook his head, "it's such a shame."

Tsubaki's gray-blue eyes went wide, "They stayed at your house Misaki-senpai? Wha-what did you guys do all night?"

Misaki's and Ryuunosuke's faces went red at what Tsubaki said, "What the hell's goin' through your mind Tsubaki-chan!?" Misaki questioned in embarrassment.

"Y-yeah, we just spent the night since our street was blocked off," Ryuunosuke said nervously, "we just—"

Yori's smirk cut Ryuunosuke off, "Please you two, you guys were talking about 'Mommy-Daddy Time' in the bedroom, and there wasn't a time the entire night that you two didn't—"

Misaki glared at Yori, "You gonna finish that?" She questioned threw clenched teeth.

Yori's eyes went wide and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Nah…I-I think I'll leave Tsubaki to use her imagination."

Tsubaki gasped lightly, "Uh, um…I-I believe Misaki-senpai and Ryuunosuke-senpai." She said quietly. "You've only just met, so I don't think Yori-senpai knows what he's talking about," she added with a sweet smile.

Ryuunosuke smirked, "Good choice Tsubaki, the whole 'Mommy-Daddy' thing was a joke, but Yori's a freak and wishes it weren't."

Yori laughed, "You know it, but I wanted to be the dad…" He said, acting upset.

Misaki rolled her blue eyes and smacked Yori upside the head, "I think I'd rather choose Ryuunosuke over you Yori…" She said with a grin.

Yori turned to Ryuunosuke with a false glare, "Dickhead…stealing the hotties from me; how dare you!"

Ryuunosuke smirked his attractive smirk and shrugged simply, "Hey, it ain't my fault that Misaki has good taste in guys."

Tsubaki giggled into her hands and Misaki just rolled her eyes again, "Alright, alright, now that we know my initial choice between you two; let's focus on what we're really coming here to do."

"Good point," Ryuunosuke said. "Ok, so when we get to my place, we'll head upstairs to the 'Weapon Room' and take our pick. Once we make our choices, we can just head to Wansubo from that room; my dumbass brother barely even knows that place exists."

Misaki raised an eyebrow, "How does that work?" She asked curiously.

Ryuunosuke and Yori shrugged, "It's a mystery to me too." Ryuunosuke replied simply. "I always wonder how the hell someone can be so retarded."

Misaki nodded in confusement, "Right…" She said and the four friends continued to walk down Hitori Street.

As they walked, Misaki felt Ikami stirring within her mind, but she didn't understand why. Misaki wondered if it was just because she was anxious to begin fighting, or if it were something completely different. She mentally shook away the slight worry she felt coming over her and continued to walk.

After a few more minutes, a large, white house came into view. From what Misaki could see, it was at least three stories, and the yard seemed very well maintained even though it was slightly hidden behind a fancy fence that encircled the yard. The driveway was white concrete and led to a garage that was large; it looked like it could be passed off as a small house, as _Misaki's_ small house.

Ryuunosuke sighed, "Yeah…take it in." He said, not sounding the least bit happy. "I'll be honest, my family is relatively rich…my parents own a line of popular stores across the country; Hagaku Convenience, you've probably heard of it."

Misaki stared at Ryuunosuke's massive house in disbelief, "Damn…your place make mine look like a tool shed; my entire house is the size of YOUR garage!"

Ryuunosuke rubbed the back of his neck with an uncomfortable sigh, "Yeah…but this place is way too big for a family of four; it's set up so that each of us have our own floor…"

"It's kinda like an Apartment Building," Yori said simply, "Ryuunosuke's floor is the third story."

Ryuunosuke nodded, "Yeah, but my parents use one of the extra rooms as a place to store their ancient weapons they buy off of random people…"

Tsubaki looked at Ryuunosuke, "So there's no chance of anybody finding out what we're doing up there?"

"Nope," Ryuunosuke answered and reached into his coat pocket; he pulled out a key-ring. "Just gimme a sec and I'll get us inside." He said and approached the large gate of the fence. After a few seconds of fumbling with the key-ring, he inserted a golden key into the keyhole; the gate opened with an eerie squeak a few seconds later. "Yeah…we STILL use a key, we're too lazy to upgrade. Go ahead and go in, I've gotta lock the gate behind us."

Everybody did as Ryuunosuke instructed and walked into his well-maintained yard; the two girls wearing shocked expressions. "This is amazing." Tsubaki said as she looked up at the house.

Misaki laughed lightly, "Tell me about it," she said and turned to Ryuunosuke who seemed slightly embarrassed, "how come I didn't know you were loaded?"

Ryuunosuke smirked and shrugged, "I dunno, but I'd like it if you kept quiet about this; I don't want the entire school finding out."

Misaki nodded, "No problem, but I don't see how they haven't figured it out already; this is a small town and stuff travels fast."

"I'm sure SOME people have figured it out, but I dunno…" Ryuunosuke said and pocketed his keys. "C'mon, let's get inside," he said, "I suppose I can give the girls the 'Grand Tour.'"

Misaki and Tsubaki smiled with nods, "If that's ok with you, Senpai." Tsubaki said politely as the group of four headed into Ryuunosuke's house.

***

The four High School Students walked around Ryuunosuke's enormous house as _Yori _gave the tour, cutting Ryuunosuke off about every sentence. As the foursome advanced up the floors, Misaki found it strange that Ryuunosuke's brother had not made an appearance. Just as she was about to speak, they reached story number three and she became inarticulate.

The entire floor was well lit to make the place seem as though it were a fancy hotel. It used warm colors such as oranges and yellows, but it was painted neatly and it looked amazing. Compared to the previous floors, Ryuunosuke's was cleaner and more organized and the paint job was the best; the colors chose matched and went together nicely with the carpet and furniture.

Misaki nodded approvingly, "Very nice Ryuunosuke, I like the color scheme; did you design this?"

Ryuunosuke rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Yeah…b-but don't go around spreading the word…"

Tsubaki giggled, "You worry too much Ryuunosuke-senpai, neither Misaki nor I will say anything to anyone."

"God Ryuunosuke," Yori began, "why are you so worked up about something like this?"

"That's not important at the moment," he replied, "I thought we were heading to Wansubo, like, now."

Yori held up his hands in defense, "Ok, ok, cool, cool," he said.

Misaki looked around the beautiful floor, "Um, where's the weapon room? I'm pretty curious about what it looks like."

Tsubaki copied Misaki's movements, "Yeah…I'm curious as well Senpai."

Ryuunosuke nodded and motioned for the others to follow him, "It's at the end of this hall. The door is metal and there are, like, twenty 'Biohazard' 'No Trespassing' and 'Police Line Do Not Cross' signs all over the door; if you miss it you're as stupid as my brother."

"…and that's an insult," Yori said with a smirk which made Tsubaki laugh and Misaki roll her eyes.

The High Schoolers walked for a few more seconds, until the approached the sigh-covered, metal door. When the girls caught sight of it, they both raised their eyebrows at the randomness.

"Your parents actually DO have a weapon room," Tsubaki said, "I didn't know if I believed you or not Senpai…it's just so weird…"

Ryuunosuke smirked and rolled his deep blue eyes, "Yeah thanks for the complement Tsubaki." He said sarcastically and grabbed his keys from his pocket. He picked out a silver, almost fake looking one, and inserted it into the keyhole and turned; the 'click' of the tumblers was heard signaling that the door was now unlocked.

"I CALL THE LONG SWORD," Yori exclaimed as he entered the room _right _when the door was opened.

Tsubaki laughed at her Senpai and raised her left arm into the air, "I CALL BOW AND ARROW!" She mimicked and entered the room happily.

Ryuunosuke smirked and turned to Misaki, "I'll ask again; are you SURE your Martial Arts will help on the other side?"

Misaki smirked, "Yeah Ryuunosuke, I'm positive," she answered cockily and casually walked into the Weapon Room.

When she got in, she looked around in astonishment, shocked by the sheer number of _different _weapons for different time periods and countries. Although she knew she didn't want a weapon, Misaki's eyes fell upon an amazingly old spear and that peeked her interest. She approached the weapon and reached for it and touched it, but she pulled away soon after.

"Y'know you CAN use that spear, Misaki," Ryuunosuke's smooth voice whispered right next to her. "I'm sure it'll be helpful."

Misaki blushed at Ryuunosuke's warm breath against her neck, and at his attractive voice, but she shook it away quickly. "Yeah and I'm sure it'll slow me down, and I'm sure I'd get confused trying to use it and fall down a couple of times. You don't want that do ya Ryuunosuke?"

Ryuunosuke sighed, his warm breath once again felt on the back of Misaki's neck. "Sorry…I'm just not sure about you simply beating the shit outta the Shadows." He said as he grabbed a gun from a nearby table; he grabbed ammo as well and pocketed it.

Misaki raised an eyebrow at Ryuunosuke's weapon choice, "Why a gun?" She asked simply.

Ryuunosuke grabbed another clip of ammo and loaded the gun, "It's long range so I don't have to worry about getting too close, it's pretty damn accurate in the correct hands," he explained casually, "and it's the only thing I know how to use." He said, the last part within a smirk.

"Yeah and it'll take time to reload it in the midst of battle," Misaki said and crossed her arms, "Martial Arts don't involve reloading; I can repeatedly attack and my attacks are EXTREMELY accurate cuz I'm all close and personal to the enemy—"

"Which is also dangerous," Ryuunosuke said, cutting Misaki off, "if you miss Misaki, the enemy will have the chance to attack and since you're in the enemies' territory, it may only take one strike from them to end YOUR life."

Misaki did not act fazed, but she knew that Ryuunosuke made a strong point. "That's why having a team is gonna be affective," she said, "Yori and I are both close range fighters, and you and Tsubaki-chan are far ranged; the four of us together make everything balance out."

Ryuunosuke nodded with a worried sigh, "I know, but still, I'm pretty damned worried about you two…mostly you." He said, the last part in an almost silent whisper that Misaki did not catch.

She smiled up at him, "Ok, I'll make you a deal; if I get hurt today I'll learn how to use an actual weapon, does that sound good to you?"

Ryuunosuke nodded, "Yeah, and I'm holding you up to that, got it?"

Misaki smiled, "Whatever Ryuunosuke."

"Are you two done babbling yet," Yori questioned from the opposite side of the room, "me and Tsubaki are ready to go."

Tsubaki smiled, "'Tsubaki and I,' Yori-senpai." She corrected innocently, causing Yori to roll his brown eyes.

"Yeah ok," he said with an annoyed sigh, "Tsubaki and I are ready to go."

Misaki and Ryuunosuke approached the other two and Misaki removed her phone from her jacket pocket. "Are you guys ready," she asked and everybody nodded, "I just hope this'll work a second time, I've never tried to get there with this many people."

Misaki looked at her black flip-phone for a second and opened it with her right thumb. With a sigh she navigated herself to the text message outbox and saw that two messages were there, she selected the top one that was accidentally sent to the wrong number. She chose to 'resend' the message and the phone did as she commanded; a few seconds later the message was sent. After another few seconds, Misaki's cellphone made the same, strange chiming sound; she opened it and saw the name 'Tsubame Asuno' onscreen once again. After that was read, the strange portal appeared and sucked in the four friends.

***

**Ambie's Second Note: **That's the end of this chapter! Reviews are a nice thing that'd I'd like to see!


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